Latest data release by ONS - 14 Dec 2017

  • Prior m/m +0.3%; revised to +0.5%
  • Retail sales y/y +1.6% vs +0.3% expected
  • Prior y/y -0.3%
  • Retail sales (ex autos/fuel) m/m +1.2% vs +0.4% exp
  • Retail sales (ex autos/fuel) y/y +1.5% vs +0.2% exp

Very, very strong beat on the numbers.

Strong headlines, strong core retail sales, better revision. All boxes checked. Cable got a good 20 pip spike on the numbers, but it was also moving higher gradually in the 10 minutes building up to the data.

Cable touched session highs of 1.3466, but now down to 1.3453.

According to the ONS, the data covers the period from 29 Oct to 27 Nov only.

Strong beat, but let's not forget that GBP remains well anchored by Brexit negotiations. Let's not get too carried away.