The Greenback weakened against the British Pound, following the United Kingdom Retail Sales release on Thursday at 08:30 GMT. The GBP/USD currency pair gained 20 pips, or 0.16%.
The Office for National Statistics released UK Retail Sales data that came better-than-expected at 0.7% with the forecasted of 0.2%. The actual data is good for the currency because there come more opportunities for the change in the total value of inflation-adjusted sales at the retail level.
The Office for National Statistics senior statistician, Rhian Murphy said: "Many consumers stayed away from some high street stores in July, but online sales were very strong, supported by several retailers launching promotions. Food sales remained robust as people continued to enjoy the World Cup and the sunshine."
| Historical Data Table: Retail Sales m/m | Economic Calendar for 17.08.2018 | ||||||||
| Date | 19.04.2018 | 24.05.2018 | 14.06.2018 | 19.07.2018 | 16.08.2018 | 12:30 PM | CA CPI m/m |
||
| Actual | -1.20% | 1.60% | 1.30% | -0.50% | 0.70% | 2:30 PM | US Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment | ||
| Forecast | -0.50% | 0.80% | 0.50% | 0.10% | 0.20% | 2:30 PM | US Prelim UoM Inflation Expectations | ||
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
| GBP/USD | 1.27009 | 1.27192 | 0.14% | GBP/USD | 69.58% | 30.42% | |||
| EUR/GBP | 0.89559 | 0.89482 | -0.09% | EUR/GBP | 26.05% | 73.95% | |||
| GBP/CAD | 1.66612 | 1.66848 | 0.14% | GBP/CAD | 52.31% | 47.69% | |||
| GBP/JPY | 140.693 | 140.901 | 0.15% | GBP/JPY | 72.56% | 27.44% | |||