The USD is trading firmer against most of its peers after data showed that advance retail sales in the US jumped as expected in August. Data also showed the preliminary reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index climbed more than expected in September, fuelling speculation that the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates soon. The EUR is trading higher. Market sentiment was lifted after the European Central Bank chairman, Mario Draghi, in the Eurozone finance ministers’ meeting, backed his decision to buy asset-backed securities and asked the regional governments to guarantee the riskier parts of the underlying assets. Further, encouraging reports on the Eurozone industrial production and employment helped Euro to climb higher. The EUR is trading 0.4%, 0.3% and 0.2% higher against the JPY, the GBP and the USD, respectively.