GBP/USD rises as UK retail sales beat with 1% in January
|UK retail sales rose by 1% in January, far above expectations. In addition, it came on top of an upwards revision for December's data: -0.7% against -0.9% originally reported.
Year over year, sales are up 4.1%. Excluding fuel, sales are up 1.2% MoM and 4.2% YoY. All figures beat expectations and enjoyed revisions to the upside.
GBP/USD recaptures 1.2800 after trading before that level before the publication.
GBP/USD was struggling with 1.2800 ahead of the publication. On Thursday, the UK government lost a non-binding yet indicative vote in Parliament. In addition, the USD is on the rise amid a risk-off atmosphere stemming from an impasse in trade talks with China and concerns about the global economy.
The UK was expected to report an increase of 0.2% in retail sales in January 2019, following a fall of 0.9% in December. Year over year, an acceleration from 3.0% to 3.4% was on the cards.
Excluding fuel, an advance of 0.2% was forecast, coming on top of a significant drop of 1.3% in the last month of 2018. Year over year, 3.4% was projected after 3% beforehand.
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