UK Retail Sales unexpectedly rise 1% MoM in February vs. -0.3% expected
- The UK Retail Sales jumped 1% MoM in February, a positive surprise.
- Monthly core Retail Sales for the UK rose 1% in February.
- GBP/USD keeps range near 1.2950 after strong UK consumer data.
The United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales jumped 1% month-over-month (MoM) in February after rising 1.7% in January, the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Friday. Markets expected a 0.3% drop in the reported month.
The core Retail Sales, stripping the auto motor fuel sales, rose by 1% MoM, against the previous revised growth of 1.6% and the estimated -0.5% figure.
The annual Retail Sales in the UK climbed 2.2% in February versus January’s 0.6% revision, while the core Retail Sales also advanced 2.2% in the same month versus 0.8% previous. Both readings exceeded market expectations.
Market reaction to UK Retail Sales report
GBP/USD is shrugging off upbeat UK data, trading flat on the day near 1.2950 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 strongest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.13% | 0.02% | -0.27% | 0.15% | 0.29% | 0.46% | 0.07% | |
| EUR | -0.13% | -0.13% | -0.44% | -0.00% | 0.14% | 0.31% | -0.08% | |
| GBP | -0.02% | 0.13% | -0.29% | 0.13% | 0.27% | 0.44% | 0.05% | |
| JPY | 0.27% | 0.44% | 0.29% | 0.42% | 0.56% | 0.74% | 0.35% | |
| CAD | -0.15% | 0.00% | -0.13% | -0.42% | 0.14% | 0.29% | -0.07% | |
| AUD | -0.29% | -0.14% | -0.27% | -0.56% | -0.14% | 0.17% | -0.22% | |
| NZD | -0.46% | -0.31% | -0.44% | -0.74% | -0.29% | -0.17% | -0.39% | |
| CHF | -0.07% | 0.08% | -0.05% | -0.35% | 0.07% | 0.22% | 0.39% |
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.
