The British pound today declined against the US dollar after the release of weak UK retail sales data for December. The pound initially fell after the retail sales report before rallying higher to new post-Brexit highs after which a downtrend ensued.
The GBP/USD currency pair lost over 90 points to decline from a high of 1.3944 to a low of 1.3851 in the early American session.
The currency pair started today’s session seesawing between brief up moves and down moves before decisively heading downwards after the release of the UK retail data by the Office for National Statistics. The retail sales declined by 1.5% on a monthly basis in December, which was its lowest reading since 2010. The yearly rate also missed expectations by coming in at 1.4% versus the expected 3.0%. The core retail sales print was also lower than expected as it was recorded at 1.3% as compared to the consensus estimate of 2.6%.
The selling pressure around the greenback as tracked by the US Dollar Index, which hit a low of 90.16 earlier today, had minimal impact on the currency pair. The US dollar was largely weaker against its main peers as the threat of a US government shutdown loomed over the currency.
The currency pair’s short-term performance is likely to be affected by the release of the University of Michigan consumer survey scheduled for later today.
The GBP/USD currency pair was trading at 1.3851 as at 14:09 GMT having dropped from a high of 1.1944. The GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at 153.24 having dropped from a high of 154.36.
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