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The British Pound strengthened against the Greenback, following the UK retail sales report on Thursday. The GBP/USD currency pair gained only four pips, or 0.03%, in the first minute after the release. However, the GBP/USD currency pair showed growth only in the first two minutes and continued to decline afterwards.
The Office for National Statistics revealed better-than-expected retail sales data, but that was not enough to cause a significant move on the market. British retail sales grew 0.8% in February, exceeding the forecasts of 0.4%. Despite the fact that retail sales grew, doubts about consumer purchase power remained, as the Bank of England plans on raising interest rates.
| Historical Data Table: UK Retail Sales m/m | Economic Calendar for 22.03.2018 | ||||||||
| Date | 16.11.2017 | 14.12.2017 | 19.01.2018 | 16.02.2018 | 22.03.2018 | 12:00 PM | UK Official Bank Rate | ||
| Actual | 0.50% | 1.00% | -1.40% | -0.20% | 0.80% | 12:30 PM | US Unemployment Claims | ||
| Forecast | 0.10% | 0.40% | -0.80% | 0.50% | 0.40% | 5:00 PM | MPC Memb. Ramsden Speaks | ||
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
| GBP/USD | 1.41682 | 1.41723 | 0.03% | GBP/USD | 47.21% | 52.79% | |||
| EUR/GBP | 0.87151 | 0.8711 | -0.05% | EUR/GBP | 28.90% | 71.10% | |||
| GBP/CAD | 1.82161 | 1.82153 | 0.00% | GBP/CAD | 26.19% | 73.81% | |||
| GBP/JPY | 149.64 | 149.601 | -0.03% | GBP/JPY | 47.67% | 52.33% | |||