Pound Sterling hits hard due to sharp contraction in UK Retail Sales.

The Pound Sterling further corrects against the US Dollar after the release of weaker-than-expected UK Retail Sales data for June.
Doubts over the BoE to begin reducing interest rates in August remain afloat.
The uncertainty over the US Presidential elections improves the safe-haven appeal of the US Dollar.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) extends its correction against the majority of its peers in Friday’s London session. The British currency slides further as the United Kingdom (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported weaker-than-expected Retail Sales data for June.

The report showed that monthly Retail Sales contracted at a faster pace of 1.2%. Economists estimated a decline of 0.4% against 2.9% growth in May. Annually, receipts at retail stores dipped by 0.2%, which were expected to have grown at a similar pace. Every retailer saw a sharp decline in sales receipts except those who offers automotive fuel.

Retail Sales data is a key measure of consumer spending, and a sharp decline in the same suggests that households struggle to bear the burden of higher interest rates by the Bank of England (BoE). However, individuals may not find any relief from higher interest obligations amid uncertainty over BoE rate cuts in August.

BoE officials hesitate to favor a move towards policy normalization due to the sticky US core Consumer Price Index (CPI) amid stubborn inflation in the service sector.

Meanwhile, the expected deceleration in Average Earnings data for the three months ending in May, a key measure of wage growth that prompts service inflation, fails to lift expectations for BoE rate cuts in August as the current pace is still higher than what it is needed to be consistent for taming price pressures.

Daily digest market movers: Pound Sterling dives while US Dollar bounces back

The Pound Sterling weakens to near 1.2930 against the US Dollar (USD) as the latter rebounds strongly after printing a fresh almost four-month low. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, bounces back from 103.65 and extends recovery to nearly 104.30.
The safe-haven appeal for the US Dollar improves amid growing speculation that United States (US) President Joe Biden could drop his re-election bid. This has prompted upside risks to political uncertainty.
However, the recovery move in the US Dollar is less likely to last long as traders see the Federal Reserve (Fed) reducing interest rates in September as a done deal. Investors expect the Fed to cut borrowing costs twice this year instead of once, as signaled by policymakers in the latest dot plot.
In Friday’s session, New York Fed Bank President John Williams and Atlanta Fed Bank President Raphael Bostic are lined up for speeches. Investors will focus on cues about when the Fed will start cutting interest rates.
Meanwhile, Fed officials’ confidence that inflation has returned to the path of 2% has improved due to slower-than-expected growth in the US inflation and easing labor market conditions. Recent CPI readings from June showed that annual headline and core inflation decelerated faster than expected, and monthly headline inflation declined for the first time in more than four years