The Great Britain pound was volatile after the release of Britain’s gross domestic product report. The data was bearish, therefore the currency sank after the release, but the sterling is currently attempting to recover and is actually trading near the opening level against such majors like the US dollar and the euro.
The economy of the United Kingdom grew just 0.2% in the first quarter of this year from the previous three months according to the second estimate. It was an unexpected downward revision from the preliminary estimate (0.3%) and marks a sharp slowdown from the 0.7% growth in the fourth quarter of 2016. The report had this to say on the matter:
UK GDP growth slowed to 0.2% in Quarter 1 2017 as consumer facing industries such as retail and accommodation fell and household spending slowed. This was partly due to rising prices. Construction and manufacturing also showed little growth, while business services & finance continued to grow strongly.
Previously, the robust growth of the UK economy led to speculations that Britain may weather parting with the European Union relatively unscathed. Yet now, it seems that Brexit fears have taken their toll at last.
GBP/USD traded at 1.2956 as of 11:26 GMT today after opening at 1.2970 and rising to the daily high of 1.3014. EUR/GBP traded at about 0.8652, close to the opening of 0.8647. GBP/JPY managed to log gains from 144.58 to 144.88, though the currency was still off the session high of 145.42.
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