Just when the news cycle starts to settle into relative normality, North Korea decides to up the ante. As my colleague Rowan reported earlier, North Korea launched another missile, ratcheting up tensions around the globe. The markets seem to be getting wise to this little game, as gold has been held in check and U.S. equities indices are up marginally.

In addition, London has been hit by an act of terror, the fifth such attack this year. The situation is still developing, so as the news impacts the market we will be sure pass it along.

The Markets Are Getting Used To Geopolitical Tension

It is important to periodically scan the horizon looking for signs of pending danger. While trading breaking news items can be lucrative, it can also bring peril.

Today’s Metrics

We have had a few data releases come out in the pre-U.S. session. Let’s take a look at some of the more important items:

Event                                                     Previous                 Projected              Actual

Retail Sales (MoM, Aug)                            0.3%                      0.3%                  -0.2%

Retail Sales ex Autos (MoM, Aug)              0.4%                     0.5%                   0.2%

Capacity Utilization (Aug)                           76.9%                    76.8%                 76.1%

Industrial Production (MoM, Aug)               0.4%                       0.1%                  -0.9%

All in all, not a good batch of metrics facing the U.S. economy. Retail sales and Industrial Production both missed the mark. These numbers tell us that consumption is lagging a bit, more than likely attributable to the active hurricane season. Perhaps they will have an influence on next week’s FOMC meeting?

The numbers themselves can be interpreted a myriad of ways. As active traders, all we need to know is that they bring players to the table. Participation drives markets and that creates opportunity.

Stay tuned to FX Leaders throughout the day for breaking news, analysis, and trade ideas.