On Wednesday, the US dollar is holding strong over an upbeat release of retail sales figures. At the time of writing, the US dollar index DXY is trading at 97.34, slightly lower than the highest levels touched during Tuesday’s US session.

In June, retail sales in the US came in better than expected, with retail sales MoM coming in at 0.7% vs. 0.1% expected and 0.4% in the previous month. This positive data point has further reduced the likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates by 0.5% later this month, although the 0.25% rate cut seems imminent still.

The US dollar has been further strengthened by continuing weakness in other major currencies, especially the Euro and the Pound. Political uncertainties, Brexit, weak economic data and inflation are keeping European currencies and markets under pressure, further increasing the US dollar’s appeal.