GBP/USD holds steady near YTD tops, around mid-1.3200s post-UK retail sales
- GBP/USD gained traction for the second straight day amid the prevalent USD selling bias.
- Friday’s upbeat UK Retail Sales figures remained supportive of the intraday positive move.
- Investors now eye UK flash PMI prints for August in order to grab some trading opportunities.
The GBP/USD pair held on to its modest gains near session tops, around the 1.3240-50 region and moved little following the release of the UK macro data.
The pair built on the previous day's strong intraday bounce of over 150 pips from weekly lows, around the 1.3065 region, and edged higher for the second consecutive session on Friday. The uptick was sponsored by the emergence of some fresh US dollar selling bias and got an additional boost from stronger-than-expected UK Retail Sales figures.
In fact, headline sale recorded a modest growth of 3.6% in July as against the 2% increase anticipated. The core retail sales – excluding fuel sales – jumped 2% during the reported month as against consensus estimates pointing to a 0.2% rise. On an annualized basis, the UK retail sales stood at 1.4% in July versus a flat reading expected and the core retail sales unexpectedly climbed 3.1%, both beating market expectations.
On the other hand, the US dollar remained depressed amid growing concerns about the US economic recovery, further fueled by an unexpected rise in the US Initial Weekly Jobless Claims. A setback from the US labour market report comes after the FOMC meeting minutes warned about the slowdown in hiring and added to the market worries.
Apart from this, the uncertainty over the next round of the US fiscal stimulus measures further undermined the already weaker greenback and remained supportive of the bid tone surrounding the GBP/USD pair. Market participants now look forward to the flash version of the UK PMI prints for some meaningful trading opportunities.
Technical levels to watch