The Sterling gained 14 base points against the US Dollar, as the UK Retail Sales report showed slightly better-than-expected data. The GBP/USD currency pair rose 0.11% to be seen trading near the 1.2901 mark just for a while and then retreated to the previous level. However, on Friday morning the Pound was strong enough to repeat the post-release gains.
The Office for National Statistics revealed that Britain's retail sales surged 0.3% month-over-month in July, above expectations for a 0.2% rise, though the figure was weaker than a 0.6% registered in June. Higher food sales managed to offset a decrease in spending on other goods. Moreover, the UK retail sales are expected to show modest expansion this year, if real wage growth keeps falling behind inflation.
| Historical Data Table | |||||
| Date | 21.04.2017 | 18.05.2017 | 15.06.2017 | 20.07.2017 | 17.08.2017 |
| Actual | -1.80% | 2.30% | -1.20% | 0.60% | 0.30% |
| Forecast | -0.30% | 1.20% | -0.90% | 0.40% | 0.20% |
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | |||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | |||
| GBP/USD | 1.28875 | 1.29017 | 0.11% | ||
| EUR/GBP | 0.91102 | 0.9099 | -0.12% | ||
| GBP/CAD | 1.6262 | 1.62785 | 0.10% | ||
| GBP/JPY | 141.838 | 141.864 | 0.02% | ||