The Great Britain pound attempted to rally today but failed. Currently, the sterling trades at the opening level against some rivals and fell far below it versus others. Thursday’s macroeconomic data was generally positive, but that did not help the currency.
The GfK UK Consumer Confidence improved from -9 in April to -7 in May, beating analysts’ expectations. The Nationwide House Price Index was the only outright negative indicator, showing a drop by 0.2% in May, month-on-month, instead of an increase at the same rate that analysts had predicted. The Bank of England reported that net lending to individuals increased by £5.7 billion in April, exceeding the average forecast of £5.2 billion. The number of mortgage approvals was broadly unchanged at 62,455 in April.
One of the biggest headwinds for the sterling remained the Brexit. With no clear plan of an exit from the European Union, Britain is under threat of breaking trade ties with the EU. The main issue remained the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
GBP/USD rallied from 1.3284 to 1.3348 intraday before retreating to 1.3291 as of 21:11 GMT today. EUR/GBP rallied from 0.8764 to 0.8794. GBP/JPY was little changed at 144.60.
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