UK Feb. retail sales up 0.8% m-o-m vs. 0.4% expected

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

“In February 2018, the quantity bought in retail sales increased by 0.8% when compared with the previous month,” the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported this Thursday.

Key points:

• The monthly increase to the quantity bought follows two monthly declines in December and January, resulting in an overall decrease of 0.4% in the three months to February.

• The year-on-year growth rate increased by 1.5% following a general slowdown when compared with an increase of 3.3% in February 2017.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

GBP/USD remains offered below 1.3600

GBP/USD resumes its decline, reversing Tuesday’s bullish attempt and breaking below 1.3600 the figure on Wednesday. Cable’s marked pullback follows a firm advance in the Greenback as investors continue to assess latest US data as well as the geopolitical landscape.

EUR/USD remains on the back foot around 1.1650

EUR/USD comes under renewed selling interest, slipping back to the mid-1.1600s ahead of the opening bell in Asia. Spot loses momentum on the back of solid gains in the US Dollar in a context of unabated geopolitical tensions and steady caution ahead of key US data releases and Chair Warsh’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday. Looking ahead, the ECB will publish its Accounts on Thursday.

Gold recovers from weekly low; trades above $4,600 on softer USD

Gold attracts some dip-buyers and regains $4,600 in the Asian session on Thursday, recovering part of the previous day's losses to the weekly low as the US dollar lacks follow-through amid Hormuz optimism and sliding US bond yields. Meanwhile, hot US PCE inflation data keeps Fed rate-hike bets on the table, acting as a tailwind for the buck and capping non-yielding bullion.

WTI slips below $81.50 amid Middle East diplomacy

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price depreciates after registering modest gains in the previous day, trading around $81.30 per barrel during the Asian hours on Thursday. Crude oil prices decline amid signs of diplomatic progress in the Middle East.

60 days to pay: Nvidia is financing its own demand

The Jensen Huang-helmed Nvidia (NVDA) delivered its second-quarter earnings print with its stock roughly 11% beneath the peak it set in May and around 8% beneath where it traded in mid-August, on the day it told the market it would stand behind up to $105 billion of a single customer's rent. Then it beat everything. Revenue of $96.221 billion against a consensus near $92 billion.

Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole dilemma: Say too much, too little, or just enough

Kevin Warsh is preparing to deliver his first Jackson Hole speech as Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair on Friday, and expectations extend well beyond whether interest rates will be raised or left unchanged in September.