Forex News: Will GBP Gain on Slowing Retail Sales Growth?
August 19th, 2010 Posted in Daily Forex News
Name: Dan
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Following yesterday’s gains made by the US dollar against its main currency rivals, today may provide the greenback with another opportunity to extend its bullish trend.
Here is a roundup of the day’s main news events:
08:30 GMT: GBP – Retail Sales
The UK Retail Sales figure is a calculation of the total change in retail sales over the last month. As consumer spending accounts for the majority of economic activity in the UK, the retail sales figure is of great importance and consistently leads to market volatility.
Last month’s figure of 0.7% exceeded expectations and represented a slight increase over the previous month. As a result, sterling made some small gains against its main currency rivals. This month, analysts are forecasting a smaller figure of around 0.4%. If true, the pound may take some losses in late morning trading. Should the figure come in above expectations, the GBP may see some solid upward movement.
12:30 GMT: USD – Unemployment Claims
The weekly unemployment claims figure represents the number of US workers who have filed for first time for unemployment insurance in the past week. The employment situation is still the main factor preventing a sustained US economic recovery, and as such, the unemployment claims figure is considered to be of critical importance.
Last week’s figure was higher than expected, and caused the greenback to take some losses against both the euro and yen. This week, analysts are forecasting a slight drop in the figure which, if true, could cause some further dollar gains. That being said, the unemployment figure is notoriously hard to predict. Traders will want to watch out for a high figure, which could create a bearish trend for the buck.
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Tags: Britain, buck, Forex, forex market, forex news, Forex Trading, fx, GBP, greenback, Pound, Retail Sales, Sterling, Unemployment, USD
