| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 06:00 | United Kingdom | Retail Sales (MoM) | July | -0.9% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| 06:00 | United Kingdom | Retail Sales (YoY) | July | -0.3% | 1.4% | 1.4% |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Trade balance unadjusted | July | 14.0 | 13.3 | 22.3 |
GBP increased slightly against most of the other major currencies in the European session on Friday as investors digested retail sales data from the UK for July.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported retail sales in Britain rose 0.7% MoM last month, following an upwardly revised decline of 0.9% MoM (from -1.2% MoM) in June. The reading was a tick below economists’ forecast of +0.6% MoM.
The July rebound in UK retail sales added to evidence of positive momentum in the domestic economy. The data, however, did not influence the bets on the Bank of England’s further rate path. Markets continue to see one or two additional 25-basis-point rate decreases by the BoE by the end of the year after the first reduction earlier this month.