The Pound has failed to advance against the Euro or US Dollar today, with the latest UK retail sales stats unable to firm GBP EUR and GBP EUR.
- GBP EUR and GBP USD exchange rates decline – Markets remain uncertain despite UK retail sales
- Euro uncertainty seen after inflation rate results – Eurozone trade surplus fell in July
- US Dollar in demand ahead of retail sales stats – Previous trade prices fell in August
- BoE rate decision imminent – Speech from German central banker expected later
The Euro has been in a similarly bad way against its usual rivals, while the US Dollar has firmed against its peers due to investor optimism.
Pound Sterling News: Weak GBP Unable to Advance despite Positive Retail Sales Figures
The Pound has failed to make much in the way of positive movement today, remaining weak in spite of the result of August’s retail sales figures.
On the month, a major slide from 2.1%% to -0.3% has been seen, but considering markets had expected a decline to -0.8% and the previous month’s figures were revised markedly higher, this was a good outcome. The annual increase in sales from 5.8% to 5.9% in the face of a forecast slow to 4.8% further suggested post-Brexit resilience from consumer spending.
Commenting on the news, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has said;
‘Regarding the EU referendum in late June, our data on retail sales since the vote show little evidence of a departure from recent trends’.
However, because of the imminent Bank of England policy meeting, Sterling has remained in negative territory.
Euro Losses seen after Eurozone Inflation Announced, US Dollar Steady after Wednesday’s Mixed Data
Euro exchange rates have been poor during trading, on account of a negative response by investors to the latest batch of Eurozone data.
The Eurozone-wide August inflation rate has advanced on the month, but for the annual result, a reprint at 0.2% has been recorded.
For the currency bloc’s July trade balance, the surplus has fallen from 29.2bn to 25.3bn.
For the US Dollar, the majority of daily movements have been positive, mainly due to positive forecasts for upcoming US economic announcements.
In recent news, US mortgage applications have risen considerably in September, while both export and import prices on the month and year in August have fallen remained in, or fallen to, negative ranges.
The amount of crude oil stocks in the US were shown to have fallen during the start of September, which resulted in a temporary uptick in the cost of crude oil.
Future GBP, EUR, USD Forecast: Will BoE Change Policy or Ride Out the Post-Brexit Storm?
The next notable development for the UK will come at noon, when the Bank of England (BoE) makes its crucial September interest rate decision.
Also released at the same time will be news of any other policy adjustments, as well as the minutes accompanying such decisions. As it stands, the interest rate is forecast to remain at 0.25%, while the current level of quantitative easing (435bn) is not expected to be altered.
Should the UK central bank implement further policy loosening measures, the Pound is likely to slump against its peers.
From the Eurozone, the next news will come this evening, when Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann delivers a speech.
The day’s US news is expected to focus on retail sales recorded in August, as well as industrial and manufacturing production figures for the same month. Retail sales are predicted to rise on the month and year, while annual industrial production is expected to print negatively against an annual forecast rise for the manufacturing figure.
Current GBP, EUR, USD Exchange Rates
The Pound Euro (GBP EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.1774 and the Euro Pound (EUR GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.8495 today.
The Pound US Dollar (GBP USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.3233 and the US Dollar Pound (USD GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7558 today.
The Euro US Dollar (EUR USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.1238 and the US Dollar Euro (USD EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.8901 today.
