AGL 38.54 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.58%)
AIRLINK 129.50 Decreased By ▼ -3.00 (-2.26%)
BOP 5.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.53%)
CNERGY 3.86 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.39%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 41.76 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.85%)
DGKC 88.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.86 (-2.06%)
FCCL 35.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.23%)
FFBL 67.35 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (1.28%)
FFL 10.61 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (4.53%)
HUBC 108.76 Increased By ▲ 2.36 (2.22%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.26%)
KOSM 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.46%)
MLCF 41.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.60 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (1.74%)
OGDC 183.00 Increased By ▲ 1.75 (0.97%)
PAEL 26.25 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (2.14%)
PIBTL 5.97 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.4%)
PPL 146.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.70 (-1.15%)
PRL 23.61 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (1.68%)
PTC 16.56 Increased By ▲ 1.32 (8.66%)
SEARL 68.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.14%)
TOMCL 35.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (6.08%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.79%)
UNITY 26.75 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (1.33%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,806 Increased By 37.8 (0.39%)
BR30 29,678 Increased By 278.1 (0.95%)
KSE100 92,304 Increased By 366.3 (0.4%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.6 (0.34%)

Sterling edged below the day's highs on Thursday after upbeat British retail sales data, with traders wary of pushing the currency too much further given persistent concerns over Brexit negotiations. The British currency extended gains to rise half a percent on the day at $1.3419 compared to $1.3385 earlier as retail sales volumes rose by 1.6 percent from March, well above the median forecast for a monthly 0.7 percent increase in a Reuters poll of economists.
But it subsequently trimmed early gains to stand 0.2 percent up on the day at $1.3371. The currency's gains on Thursday marked a reversal of fortunes from Wednesday when it fell to its lowest levels since mid-December on a slower than expected pick up in inflation.
"With the pound more concerned with Brexit uncertainty and diminishing expectations of a BoE rate hike, further losses are on the cards," said Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at FXTM. Sterling's gains were also magnified by the dollar's weakness which was down a quarter of a percent against a basket of its rivals after US President Donald Trump called off his planned June 12 summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. However, on a trade-weighted basis, sterling was trading near its lowest levels in two weeks at 78.67. Britain will end its implementation period with the European Union after Brexit in December 2020, a government source said on Thursday, denying a media report that Prime Minister Theresa May was seeking a new transition until 2023. "I would expect limited gains for sterling however as the longer term outlook remains subdued," said Neil Jones, Mizuho head of FX hedge fund sales based in London. Market implied expectations for the next rate hike remained unchanged with bond markets pricing in a move by the end of the year with a 33 percent probability of a rate hike by August.

Copyright Reuters, 2018

Comments

Comments are closed.