When are the UK retail sales and how could they affect GBP/USD?

The UK retail sales Overview

The UK retail sales are expected to drop sharply by 0.5% m/m in May, while on an annualized basis, retail sales are seen increasing by 2.4%. In April, retail sales arrived at -1.6% over the month and 1.4% annually.

Meanwhile, core retail sales data, excluding fuel, are expected to come in at 0.3% m/m and 2.5% y/y. The report will be published later this session at 0830 GMT.

Deviation impact on GBP/USD

Readers can find FX Street's proprietary deviation impact map of the event below. As observed the reaction is likely to remain confined between 10 and 70 pips in deviations up to 3.5 to -1.5, although in some cases, if notable enough, a deviation can fuel movements of upto 100 pips.

How could affect GBP/USD?

FXStreet’s Analyst, Haresh Menghani, noted, “From a technical perspective, a decisive move beyond the descending trend-channel resistance, currently near the 1.3400-05 region has the potential to lift the pair towards June monthly tops, around the 1.3473, en-route the key 1.3500 psychological mark.” 

“On the flip side, weakness back below the 1.3365-55 immediate support might force the pair to head back towards challenging the trend-channel support near the 1.3300 handle. A breach below the mentioned support would signal a bearish shift and drag the pair towards 1.3240 support area, back closer to YTD lows set on May 29th,” Haresh added.

Key Notes

GBP/USD nosing towards 1.34 as UK, US Retail Sales figures loom for hectic Thursday

Choppy GBP/USD Creates Bull Flag Chart Pattern

About the UK retail sales

The retail Sales released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) measures the total receipts of retail stores. Monthly percent changes reflect the rate of changes of such sales. Changes in Retail Sales are widely followed as an indicator of consumer spending. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive, or bullish for the GBP, while a low reading is seen as negative or bearish.