US: Retail Sales rose 0.3% in January as expected

• Retail Sales in US rose 0.3% in January as expected.
• US Dollar Index clings to small daily gains above 99.

Retail Sales in the US increased by 0.3% on a monthly basis in January following December's 0.2% growth, the advanced data published by the US Census Bureau showed on Friday. This reading came in line with market expectation.

Retail Sales Excluding Autos also rose 0.3% in the same period after rising 0.6% in December.

"Total sales for the November 2019 through January 2020 period were up 4.4% from the same period a year ago," the publication further read.

USD stays strong

The US Dollar Index inched higher after the data and was last up 0.03% on the day at 99.13.