The British Pound strengthened against the Greenback, following the UK current account data release on Thursday. The GBP/USD currency pair gained only three pips, or 0.02%, in the first minute after the release, to continue fluctuating in the 1.4049 area.
The Office for National Statistics revealed the deficit of £18.4B in Britain's current account in the Q4 of 2017. The gap between imports and exports reduced compared to the previous period; however, analysts forecast the gap to increase up to £24.0B. It was a small relief for Britain to realise that it is approaching Brexit without relying too much on foreign investors.
Historical Data Table: UK Current Account q/q | Economic Calendar for 29.03.2018 | ||||||||
Date | 31.03.2017 | 30.06.2017 | 29.09.2017 | 22.12.2017 | 29.03.2018 | 1:45 PM | US Chicago PMI | ||
Actual | -12.1B | -16.9B | -23.2B | -19.2B | -18.4B | 2:00 PM | US UoM Consumer Sentim. | ||
Forecast | -16.3B | -17.2B | -15.8B | -21.5B | -24.0B | 2:30 PM | US Natural Gas Storage | ||
Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
GBP/USD | 1.4053 | 1.40563 | 0.02% | GBP/USD | 46.60% | 53.40% | |||
EUR/GBP | 0.87597 | 0.8759 | -0.01% | EUR/GBP | 39.60% | 60.40% | |||
GBP/CAD | 1.81571 | 1.81572 | 0.00% | GBP/CAD | 27.63% | 72.37% | |||
GBP/JPY | 149.788 | 149.797 | 0.01% | GBP/JPY | 47.42% | 52.58% |