GBP/USD shrugs off U.K. retail sales data, nearing 1.58

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – Sterling trimmed losses against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, shrugging off disappointing data on U.K. retail sales as it approached the 1.58 mark.

In early European currency market trading, GBP/USD hit 1.5795, down 0.34 percent on the day, after rising from the daily low of 1.5726.

The U.K. statistics bureau said earlier that retail sales in Britain slid 0.2 percent in September from a month earlier, confounding market expectations of a rise of 0.4 percent.

According to GBP USD analysis, cable was likely to touch support around Wednesday’s low, 1.565, and encounter resistance around Friday’s high, 1.6109.

Meanwhile, FX traders awaited a key weekly report on U.S. initial jobless claims and data on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.

Elsewhere, sterling dropped versus the yen: GBP/JPY traded at 128.05, down 0.37 percent, according to intraday analysis.

By ForexNewsNow Team

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