For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the GBP rose 0.65% against the USD and closed at 1.5672, following upbeat retail sales data in the UK.
UK retail sales grew more than expected 6.9% on an annual basis, hitting its fastest pace since May 2004 and registering its 20th successive months of growth in November. Markets were expecting it to rise 4.5% compared to previous month’s revised advance of 4.6%.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.5660, with the GBP trading 0.08% lower from yesterday’s close.
Early morning data indicated that Britain’s Gfk consumer confidence index unexpectedly fell to a level of -4.0 in December, compared to market expectations of a rise to -1.0. The index had registered a reading of -2.0 in November.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.5580, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.5500. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.5709, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.5758.
Trading trends in the Pound today are expected to be determined by the UK’s public sector net borrowings data, scheduled in a few hours.
The currency pair is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.