Foreign Exchange Market Update

June 11, 2026

United States

Partly reflecting a continued spike in energy prices, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing an increase in U.S. producer prices in May. The Labor Department said its producer price index (PPI) for final demand rose by 1.1% in May. The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated from 5.7% in April to 6.5% in May, reaching the fastest rate of growth since November 2022.

The increase in producer prices came amid the continued surge in energy prices, which skyrocketed by 10.7% in May after spiking by 7.5% in April. The sharply higher energy prices, along with a 0.6% increase in food prices, contributed to a 2.8% jump in prices for goods.

Excluding food and energy prices, prices for goods climbed by a more modest 0.8% in May after rising by 0.7% in April. The report also said prices for services rose by 0.3% in May, with a 2.6% surge in prices for transportation and warehousing services partly offset by a 1.1% slump in prices for trade services.

Core producer prices, which exclude prices for food, energy, and trade services, climbed by 0.8% in May after rising by 0.5% in April, the Labor Department said. The annual rate of growth by core producer prices accelerated to 5.1% in May from 4.4% in April, reaching the fastest rate of growth since October 2022.

A separate report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed that consumer prices in the U.S. had increased in May. The Labor Department said its consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.5% in May after climbing by 0.6% in April.

The annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated from 3.8% in April to 4.2% in May. The report also said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, crept up by 0.2% in May after rising by 0.4% in April. The annual rate of core consumer price growth inched up from 2.8% in April to 2.9% in May. 06/11/2026 - 10:46:00 (RTTNews)

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing an uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ending on June 6th. The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 229,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's level of 225,000.

With the climb, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 230,000 in the week ending on February 7th. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also rose to 219,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's average of 214,750.

Continuing claims, reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance also climbed by 24,000 to 1.795 million in the week ending on May 30th. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also inched up to 1,780,500, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's average of 1,775,750. 06/11/2026 - 09:49:00 (RTTNews)

European Central Bank Hikes Interest Rates for First Time Since 2023

Euro traded at 1.1520 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The European Central Bank raised its interest rates for the first time in nearly three years in a bid to cushion the impact of rising inflation that is triggered by the surge in energy prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, as the single currency economy struggles to grow.

The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, hiked the benchmark rate, the deposit rate, by 25 basis points to 2.25%. The main refinancing rate was lifted to 2.40% and the marginal lending rate to 2.65%. Such a move was widely expected as policymakers, including Lagarde, had signaled the same since the previous policy session.

"The war in the Middle East is generating inflation pressures, and the decision to raise rates is robust across a range of scenarios mapping out how the shock might evolve and affect the medium-term outlook for the euro area," the ECB said in a statement.

The hike was the first since September 2023, when rates were raised by 25 basis points. With the latest move, the ECB became the first major central bank to lift interest rates in the face of rising inflationary pressures caused by the war in Iran. 06/11/2026 - 09:01:00 (RTTNews)