UK Pound Slides Below $1.21 On Deteriorating Retail Sales And Consumer Confidence; GBPINR Extends Decline Below 101 Mark

Published on Oct 20, 2023 12:19

UK pound is seen extending decline below $1.21 levels and lingering at a two week low on Friday following worse than expected retail sales data. Retail sales volumes in UK have fallen by 0.9% in September 2023, following a rise of 0.4% in August 2023. Looking at the quarterly picture, sales volumes fell by 0.8% in the three months to September 2023 when compared with the previous three months. Food stores sales volumes rose by 0.2% in September 2023, following a rise of 1.4% in August 2023. Automotive fuel sales volumes rose by 0.8% in September 2023, rebounding from a fall of 1.0% in August 2023. Meanwhile, GfK Consumer Confidence indicator in the United Kingdom also fell sharply to -30 in October 2023 from -21 in September, defying expectations for a slight improvement to -20 as the high cost of living and economic uncertainties weighed on sentiment. October`s reading was also the lowest in three months, with all of the five components that make up the index showing declines. GBPUSD was quoting lower by 0.4% at $1.2098. On the NSE, GBPINR was extending slide to 100.69, down 0.25% on the day.