Retail sales in the UK advanced by only 0.1% in July, worse than expected. There was a small silver lining: the previous data was revised to the upside: from -0.2% to -0.1%. Year over year, it’s 4.2%, below expectations. Core sales rose 0.4% as expected and so are core y/y sales: 4.3%.
GBP is lower in the initial publication, slipping to 1.5630 but after the initial move, we have a bounce back to the previous levels.
The UK was expected to report a rise of 0.4% in the volume of retail sales for the month of July, after a slide of 0.2% in June. Year over year, a rise of 4.4% was expected.
GBP/USD traded around 1.5650 towards the publication, somewhat off the highs it reached after the FOMC minutes. The pound was awaiting a sign about the next move.
The next moves of both the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve will be to raise the rates, but the timing seems ever elusive.
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