The Sterling strengthened significantly against the US Dollar, as all the main components of the UK retail sales report showed better-than-expected figures for August. After the release, the GBP/USD jumped by 0.67% or 91 base point to touch the daily high of 1.3606 However, by the next couple of hours the pair resumed trading in a weaker area between the 1.3525 and 1.3560 marks.
The Office for National Statistics reported that both Britain’s retail sales and core retail sales rose 1.0% in August, beating expectations for a 0.2% rise and ignoring rising prices brought by post-referendum weakness of the Sterling. Therefore, strong figures are likely to boost expectations for the Bank of England’s rate hike announcement in November.
