- GBP / USD turned bearish after trading above 1.3500 earlier in the day.
- The British pound is struggling to find demand despite upbeat retail sales data.
- The US Dollar Index is testing 96.00.
GBP / USD passed the Asian session in a relatively tight range near 1.3500, but fell under heavy downward pressure in recent hours, amid a climate of risk aversion. The pair fell to 1.3405, hitting two-day lows and is trading around 1.3420.
Earlier in the day, data released by the UK statistics office revealed that retail sales in October rose 0.8%. This reading was higher than the market’s expectation of an increase of 0.5%. The pound was favored by the data, but then changed direction as equity markets fell.
DXY wins moment before the American session
Reports that Austria went into total lockdown due to the growing number of coronavirus cases, reactivated concerns about the slowdown in global economic activity. US stock index futures turned negative and the US dollar index rose to 96.00 erasing two days of losses.
There will be no release of high-level US macroeconomic data for the remainder of the day and risk perception is likely to continue to play a key role.
Meanwhile, negotiations on the Northern Ireland protocol will continue in Brussels on Friday and investors will keep a close eye on new Brexit headlines before the weekend.
Technical levels
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