GBP/USD: Retail Sales
|AUD/USD: Employment Change
The fourth consecutive healthy Australian employment report boosted a 30-basis point increase in the AUD/USD exchange rate, sending the Aussie to fresh 2017 highs right after the data was released. Analysts anticipated the number of employed people to increase by 14.4K in June, while the actual report showed a modest rise of 14K in the observed period, mainly supported by full-time employment, which surged by 62K. However, the unemployment rate did not manage to surprise the markets, matching with projections and drawing a rather uncertain picture with no clear trend established as of yet.
GBP/USD: Retail Sales
The stronger-than-expected UK retail sales report failed to support the British Pound, as the gain was thought to be related to temporary warm weather effects. At the moment of data release, the Sterling rose 0.20% against the US Dollar to 1.3018. According to forecasts, Britain’s retail sales were set to increase just 0.4% in June, but the release beat expectations with a 0.6% rise for the month. The higher volume of sales was supported by solid growth in clothing sales, which offset declines in fuel and food sales. Despite the uptick, the release is unlikely to convince the Bank of England to consider interest rate hike in the near term.
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