8:39am 05/12/05 Dollar boosted by strong April retail sales By Ciara Linnane
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar gained against the yen and the euro following the release of stronger-than-expected April retail sales.
The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed 1.4% in April, their best gain in seven months. Excluding autos, sales rose 1.1%. Economists were expecting a 0.8% rise and a 0.6% rise excluding autos.
The strong reading came just hours after Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings and warned for the second quarter.
The retail sales number also weighed against an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims to their highest level since the week of April 2.
The dollar was last up 0.7% at 106.50 yen, up from 106.33 yen before the data. The euro was down 0.6% at $1.2730, compared with $1.2761 before the data.
