Talking Points:
- A gauge of UK retail sales made a mockery of forecasts in April
- The British Retail Consortium’s figure showed a 5.6% rise, when markets had looked for a 0.5% gain
- The Pound didn’t move far, but may find support in the data when Europe comes in
Gauge traders’ view on the British Pound and all majors here.
The British Pound rose only moderately Tuesday despite a consensus-smashing look at retail sales.
According to the British Retail Consortium like-for-like sales were up 5.6% on the year in April. This was vastly ahead of the expected 0.5% gain and a clear turnaround from March when sales fell 1%.
Moreover, total retail spending rose 6.3% on an annualized basis. That’s the strongest print since April 2011.
The BRC said that Easter holiday timings provided a boost for sales.
The data are released long before European markets are up and running. It remains to be seen what they will make of it but Asian investors didn’t take the Pound up very far on the news. It stayed around the $1.2940 area against the US Dollar
Big Beat, Small Move
Chart Compiled Using TradingView
As ever the specter of Brexit glowers over all UK data. Indeed, BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said that, “looking to the longer-term signs of a slowdown, the outlook isn’t as rosy.”
--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
Contact and follow David on Twitter: @DavidCottleFX
