UK Retail Sales unexpectedly drop 0.3% MoM in December vs. +0.4% expected
- The UK Retail Sales fell 0.3% MoM in December, a negative surprise.
- Monthly core Retail Sales for the UK declined 0.6% in December.
- GBP/USD gives up 1.2200 after downbeat UK consumer data.
The United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales decreased at a monthly pace of 0.3% in December after growing 0.1% in November, the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Friday. Markets expected a 0.4% increase in the reported month.
The core Retail Sales, stripping the auto motor fuel sales, dropped by 0.6% MoM, against the previous growth of 0.1% and the estimated 0.1% figure.
The annual Retail Sales in the UK climbed 3.6% in December versus November’s 0%, while the core Retail Sales advanced 2.9% in the same month versus -0.5% previous. Both readings fell short of market expectations.
Market reaction to UK Retail Sales report
GBP/USD is meeting fresh supply following the disappointing UK data, falling 0.41% on the day to near 1.2190 as of writing.
British Pound PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the US Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.13% | 0.35% | 0.23% | 0.07% | 0.11% | 0.29% | 0.10% | |
| EUR | -0.13% | 0.22% | 0.14% | -0.06% | -0.02% | 0.17% | -0.03% | |
| GBP | -0.35% | -0.22% | -0.09% | -0.27% | -0.23% | -0.05% | -0.24% | |
| JPY | -0.23% | -0.14% | 0.09% | -0.14% | -0.12% | 0.07% | -0.12% | |
| CAD | -0.07% | 0.06% | 0.27% | 0.14% | 0.03% | 0.22% | 0.03% | |
| AUD | -0.11% | 0.02% | 0.23% | 0.12% | -0.03% | 0.18% | -0.03% | |
| NZD | -0.29% | -0.17% | 0.05% | -0.07% | -0.22% | -0.18% | -0.19% | |
| CHF | -0.10% | 0.03% | 0.24% | 0.12% | -0.03% | 0.03% | 0.19% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
