GBP traded mixed and mostly flat against other major currencies in the European session on Monday, as investors waited for the flash business activity data later this week, hoping to get more hints on the Bank of England's interest rate decisions.
Wednesday will bring S&P Global’s flash survey of business activity in the UK manufacturing and services sector in July. Markets will scrutinize the preliminary PMI figures to get more clarity on the health of the British economy.
Concerns about the outlook for Britain’s economy heightened after Friday’s release of the UK June retail sales data, which showed a sharper-than-anticipated decline in retail sales volumes.
Meanwhile, the UK June CPI data, also published last week, revealed that inflation in the country had proved stickier than predicted, prompting investors to trim their expectations that the BoE will begin policy easing in August.