The Sterling/dollar cross pushed back over $1.51 this afternoon following some weaker than forecast Retail Sales figures from the States. Sterling climbed to a high of 1.5110 following the data release after early trading saw exchange rates hovering around $1.5050. For more information on live market prices click here.
Just after lunchtime today (Monday) figures released by the U.S Census Bureau showed the retail sector had grown in June but not at the predicated rate, forecasts had been for the sector to grow by 0.8% but the actual number came in at 0.4%.
These latest figures may just keep the U.S Federal Reserve guessing as to when would be the best time to start winding down it current stimulus package, it was said last week they would not look to faze out the QE programme until there is a market improvement in the U.S jobs sector but if the rest of the economy starts to falter then it might take more than a few extra jobs. The longer they hold off the more chance we have of seeing GBP/USD rates recovering, although any gains we do see could well be short lived.
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Last week was a relatively quite one for the UK in terms of data releases but this week is a little busier, on Wednesday the Bank of England release the minutes from their latest meeting and it has the potential to cause some volatility in the currency market. Although Interest rates and QE were kept on hold this month we may see some movement depending on how policymakers voted.
It was Mark Carney's first meeting as BoE Governor and if the minutes show he was keen to add to the £375 billion the central bank has pumped into the UK economy we could see Sterling's value start to slide across the board.
There have been various reports and interviews in recent months that have said Mr Carney will de-value the pound. If his first meeting as governor shows he voted for further stimulus it will give us an insight to what his future plans are and it is quite possible we could see GBP/USD fall back below $1.50 on the back of the news.
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