Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD attracts slight bids below trendline near 1.3360

FXStreet Team FXStreet

GBP/USD Price Forecast: Attracts slight bids below trendline near 1.3360

The British Pound (GBP) is up 0.1% at around 1.3372 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Friday. The GBP/USD pair gains as the British currency rises, following the release of the surprisingly upbeat United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales data for August.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that Retail Sales grew by 0.5% Month-on-Month (MoM) after declining at a same pace. The data was expected to contract by 0.2%. Read more...

British Pound languishes at seven-week lows despite bright UK Retail Sales data

The British Pound (GBP) has ticked up against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, following an unexpected increase in UK Retail Sales. The GBP/USD pair, however, remains on its back foot, trading at 1.3370, ahead of the London session opening, on track for a 1.15% weekly decline, crushed by the diverging monetary policy decisions of the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of England (BoE) earlier this week.

Data released by the UK National Statistics Office on Friday revealed that retail consumption rose 0.5% in August, against expectations of a 0.2% contraction, to reverse July's 0.5% decline. The report also showed that the increase was widespread, as excluding fuel, sales of all other products rose 0.6%, also against the market consensus that had anticipated a 0.2% drop. Read more...

Author

FXStreet Team

FXStreet

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

AUD/USD sticks to positive bias above 0.7100; lacks bullish conviction

AUD/USD trades with a positive bias for the second straight day, holding above 0.7100 in the Asian session on Friday as softer US bond yields keep US Dollar bulls on the back foot. Furthermore, hawkish RBA Governor Bullock's comments boost rate hike bets and support the Aussie. However, the Fed's hawkish outlook, along with geopolitical uncertainties, limits USD losses and caps the pair.

USD/JPY approaches 158.00 as Japanese Yen resumes decline

USD/JPY is resuming its upside in the European session on Friday, refreshing two-week highs and nearing 158.00. The Japanese Yen extends losses, despite the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) expected rate hike to 1.25% and hawkish Governor Ueda's comments, as two surprise dissents against the rate hike weigh on it.

Gold: Upside remains capped by $4,400

Gold adds to the optimism seen in the second half of the week, trading with decent gains around the $4,370 region per troy ounce on Friday. The yellow metal’s advance finds traction in declining crude oil prices, and manages to offset the continuation of the move higher in the US Dollar and rising US Treasury yields across the curve.

BoJ Recap: Not as hawkish as expected

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its short-term interest-rate target to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, marking another step in the normalisation of monetary policy and widely matching what everyone has been expecting for weeks.

Why Bitcoin's over 30% rebound doesn't mean the bear market cycle is done

BTC has staged a strong recovery after falling to a yearly low of $57,800 in July, gaining nearly 33% and recording two consecutive months of gains in July and August. However, despite that rebound, Bitcoin remains around 40% below its all-time high, leaving one key question for traders: is this the start of a new bullish phase, or simply another recovery within a broader bear-market cycle?