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

UK Retail Sales Overview

The UK retail sales, scheduled to be published later this session at 0700 GMT, are expected to drop 4.2% MoM in November, following a 1.2% bounce seen in October. Total retail sales are seen arriving at 2.8% over the year in the reported month, down from 5.8% booked previously.

Meanwhile, core retail sales, stripping the basket off motor fuel sales, are seen declining 3.3% MoM while rising 4.1% YoY.

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 75 pips in deviations up to 3.5 to -4.0, although in some cases, if notable enough, can fuel movements of up to 100 pips.

How could it affect GBP/USD?

FXStreet’s Analyst Omkar Godbole notes: “The pair looks set to challenge an eight-day-long ascending trendline's support located near 1.3510 at press time. A violation there would expose 1.3451 (support of Dec. 16 low on the hourly chart).  Alternatively, a bounce from the ascending trendline would shift risk in favor of a re-test of Thursday's high of 1.3624.” 

At the press time, the cable trades at daily lows of 1.3520 amid cooling Brexit deal hopes and broad-based US dollar rebound. The spot sheds 0.45% on a daily basis.

Key Notes

GBP/USD Price Analysis: 1:2 risk to reward trade setup in the making

GBP/USD stuck in game of chicken about Brexit

About the UK Retail Sales

The retail sales released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) measures the total receipts of retail stores. Monthly per cent changes reflect the rate of changes in 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.