U.S. jobless claims fell to a 43-year low but supported the dollar merely. GBP/USD rose above 1.30 but retreated back during the Asian session. The increase came from the strong U.K. retail sales that rose at the quickest pace in five months, following a seven-year low in March but failed to boost the pound.
U.K. Retail Sales at 5-Months High in April, After 7-Year Low in March
The sterling was traded mixed against the G10 currencies on Thursday’s and early Friday’s trading sessions despite the better than expected retail sales released. The warmer weather in the U.K. boosted the retail sales for the month of April and picked up by 4.0% compared with the same month last year, while the market was expecting to rise just by 0.2% as in March. In March, the retail sales had the biggest decline in seven years while in April was the biggest increase in five months. The British pound was traded weaker against its peers overall this week, even though strong data from the labour market came out, while the headline inflation rate picked up at 2.7% in April, above BoE’s 2% inflation target.
Read the full article on JFD Research.