Foreign Exchange Market Update

August 14, 2026

United States 

A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed a decline in U.S. retail sales in July. The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.6% in July after rising by 0.2% in June. The decrease marked the first drop since October 2025, when retail sales dipped by 0.2%. The decline in retail sales partly reflected a significant pullback in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, which tumbled by 1.8% in July after surging by 2.4% in June.

However, excluding the slump in auto sales, retail sales still dipped by 0.3% in July after slipping by 0.2% in June. The report also showed an extended pullback in sales by gas stations, which slid by 0.9% in July after plummeting by 5.8% in June amid lower gasoline prices. Sales by non-store retailers also plunged by 2.2%, while sales by clothing and accessories stores shot up by 1.9%. The Commerce Department said core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, fell by 0.4% in July after climbing by 0.4% in June. 08/14/2026 - 09:26:00 (RTTNews)

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has deteriorated in August. The consumer sentiment index tumbled to 51.0 in August after surging to 55.2 in July. The current economic conditions index slid from 54.8 in June to 51.8 in August, while the index of consumer expectations slumped from 55.4 in June to 50.6 in August. 08/14/2026 - 10:18:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone

Euros traded at 1.1580 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The euro area economy expanded in the second quarter despite headwinds posed by the Middle East war. Gross domestic product (GDP) registered 0.4% sequential growth in the second quarter after posting flat growth in the first quarter. Yearly, economic growth doubled from 0.5% in the preceding period to 1.0%.

Employment grew at a steady pace of 0.1% in the second quarter. Likewise, the annual increase in employment was stable at 0.5%. EU27 expanded at a pace of 0.5% sequentially in the second quarter, faster than the 0.1% increase a quarter ago. The annual GDP growth improved from 0.8% to 1.2%. 08/14/2026 - 06:15:00 (RTTNews)

Germany's wholesale price inflation increased in July on higher energy prices. Wholesale price inflation accelerated from 4.9% in June to 5.3% in July. The price increase registered in July was largely attributable to the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, which resulted in higher wholesale prices of energy products and raw materials, in particular.

Monthly, wholesale prices increased 0.2%, following a 0.7% fall in June.  Mineral oil product prices surged 24.1% from the last year. Due to the discontinuation of the temporary reduction in the energy tax rate on petrol and diesel fuel with effect from July 1, mineral oil product prices climbed 4.0% from June. 08/14/2026 - 04:09:00 (RTTNews)

French inflation accelerated in July due to higher prices of energy and services. Consumer price inflation advanced from 1.8% in June to 2.1% in July. Likewise, inflation based on the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) rose from 2.0% in June to 2.4%. The increase in inflation reflects acceleration in service and energy prices.

Services’ inflation moved up from 1.9% to 2.2%, and energy prices rose from 11.0% to 12.6%. At the same time, growth in food prices climbed marginally from 0.9% to 1.0%, while manufactured product prices dropped 0.7%. Month-on-month, consumer prices rebounded 0.6%. The HICP also grew 0.6%, partially offsetting the 0.3% drop in the previous month. 08/14/2026 - 07:40:00 (RTTNews)

Hong Kong Q2 GDP Growth Confirmed at 4.3%

Hong Kong's economic growth moderated in the second quarter. Gross domestic product (GDP) advanced 4.3% year-over-year in the June quarter, slower than the 5.9% growth in the first quarter. The expenditure breakdown showed that private consumption grew at a slower pace of 2.8% versus 4.9% in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, government consumption almost stalled, and the growth in gross fixed capital formation eased sharply from 18.3% to 4.4%. The fall in investment was due to a slowdown in public sector expenditure on building and construction, which primarily reflected the lumpiness of milestone-based payments in the quarter.

Both exports and imports of goods grew by 28.9% and 29.3%. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis, real GDP decreased by 0.6% versus a 2.9% expansion in the March quarter. For the first half of 2026, real GDP grew by 5.1% over a year earlier, the strongest half-yearly performance in nearly five years. 08/14/2026 - 06:08:00 (RTTNews)