Aaah, there’s nothing like bad data to wake currency bears out of hibernation. Just ask the pound! Yesterday GBP/JPY was down 39 pips by the end of the New York session, while GBP/USD ended the day 51 pips below its opening price at 1.5596.
It was reported yesterday that consumer spending in the U.K. declined further in November. According to the BRC retail sales monitor report, same-store sales dropped by 1.6% during the month following the more modest 0.6% contraction we saw in October.
To make matters even worse for the pound, the most recent Halifax HPI showed that house prices went back to negative territory once again after printing a 1.2% uptick in October. The report showed that the price of an average home in the U.K. dropped by 0.9% in November. This must have upset pound bulls as the report is considered as a leading indicator of the housing market’s health.
With that said, be sure to be on your toes for the reports from the U.K. listed on our forex calendar today as they could determine the pound’s fate in the charts. At 9:30 am GMT, the manufacturing production report for October will be released and it is anticipated to come in at -0.1%. Along with that will be the industrial production report for the same month which is eyed at -0.3%. Then at 3:00 pm GMT, NIESR will release its GDP estimate for September to October. Watch out for a figure higher than its previous reading of 0.5% as it would probably be bullish for the pound.
There you have it boys and girls. Make sure you ain’t snoozin’ when the numbers are released later, ayt?