UK Retail Sales plunge

David Morrison Trade Nation

Retail Sales plunged 1.5% in December

This compares with November’s unexpectedly large 1.1% month-on-month increase and was well below the -0.8% consensus expectation.

Sterling fell sharply on the news.

Earlier this morning the British pound came within one cent of 1.4000 to trade at its highest level since the UK’s vote to leave the EU in June 2016. Sterling has also made gains versus the euro. However, the upside has been limited given the single currency’s recent strength. Overall, the pound’s rally has far more to do with the ongoing decline of the dollar. The downtrend in the greenback looks set to continue now that the EURUSD has broken above significant technical resistance around 1.2100 while the Dollar Index is making fresh three-year lows.

Author

David Morrison

Trade Nation

Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation since August 2019. David's role is to build value and growth through customer acquisition and retention via market commentaries, blogs and vlogs.

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.