Currency news

UK Retail Sales rebound

Dealer Support Administrator at Equals Money
-
3
min read
Publish date
16/08/24
      • GBP: Summer of Sport boosts spending
      • EUR: Sideways price action
      • USD: Strong Retail Sales


      Yesterday's currency recap

      Equity markets rebounded strongly after the release of the June US Retail Sales data came in strong yesterday at 1% growth versus the 0.3% expected. Jobless claims for the US also came in at 227k versus the expected 235k expected. Adding to the strong consumer story, Walmart beat expectations, indicating stable consumer health in the US.

      In the UK, monthly Retail Sales came in this morning in line with forecasts, rebounding strongly, rising 0.5% from last month's -0.9% reading, strengthening GBP across the board. GBP was also supported after yesterday’s Q2 GDP data showed a rise of 0.6%, although output for June flatlined at 0%.

      Today's GBP rates

      Currency pair Daily move* Indicative rate**
      GBPAUD -0.08% 1.9430
      GBPCAD 0.14% 1.7675
      GBPCHF 0.07% 1.1225
      GBPDKK 0.09% 8.7515
      GBPEUR 0.12% 1.1728
      GBPJPY -0.02% 191.8500
      GBPNOK -0.05% 13.8050
      GBPNZD -0.35% 2.1402
      GBPSEK -0.04% 13.5510
      GBPUSD 0.18% 1.2883


      *Daily move - against
      G10 rates at 7:30am, 16.08.24

      ** Indicative rates - interbank rates at 7:30am, 16.08.24

      Key data points

      Currency Event Period Consensus Previous
      GBP Retail Sales YoY Jul 1.40% -0.30%
      GBP Retails Sales MoM Jul 0.50% 0.50%
      USD Building Permits Jul 1.43m 1.45m
      USD Michigan Consumer Sentiment Aug 66.9 66.4

      Upcoming speeches

      • None today.

      What we think

      The Retail Sales figures out of the UK and US this week show resilient consumer demand, which surprised markets after the recent fallout in equities on fears of a sharp slowdown in global output.

      Interest rate markets have been extremely volatile of late and, following the recent stronger data, have tempered interest rate cut expectations for the remainder of the year.

      Michigan Consumer Sentiment is expected out at 3pm this afternoon, forecasted 0.5% higher than last month’s reading.

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