Sterling slips towards $1.30 as retail sales data eyed

LONDON - 19 July 2018: Sterling edged lower on Thursday thanks to a broad-based dollar rebound though monthly retail sales data kept the British currency above the $1.30 line.

In early London trading, sterling edged 0.3 percent lower at $1.3028 and nearing an early September 2017 low of $1.3010 hit in the previous session. Against the euro, sterling was broadly steady at 89.15 pence.

June retail sales data due at 0930 GMT is expected to show a increase of 0.2 percent on a monthly basis after a strong reading in May and any upside surprise could bolster bets of an August rate hike which have softened after recent figures have shown wage growth stagnating and inflation steady.

Market expectations for a 25 basis point August interest rate rise by the Bank of England fell back to 72 percent from close to 80 percent earlier this week.

Negative headlines on the Brexit front have also undermined sentiment towards sterling.

After narrowly escaping defeat in parliament over her plans for leaving the European Union this week, Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled she would not drop a proposal on Britain’s future relationship with the bloc.

“At 1.30, sterling is nowhere near to being fully priced for a worst-case political scenario, but participation in the pound is unlikely to climb much until that worst-case scenario looks a lot more certain,” said Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Financial Group.