The GBP/USD currency pair declined after news emerged that the UK government had expelled 23 Russian diplomats following the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy. The currency pair traded choppily today as it had spiked higher following the release of the US advance retail sales data, which did not meet expectations.
The GBP/USD currency pair lost about 70 points to decline from a high of 1.3996 to a low of 1.3925 at the time of writing.
The currency pair’s decline was triggered by investor fears of retaliatory actions by the Russian government as the diplomatic spat unfolds. The move by PM Theresa May‘s government was aimed at forcing Russia to take responsibility for the mysterious poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia using a Russian nerve agent on March 4. The currency pair was on a downtrend from the late Asian session, but reversed course in the early European session as markets priced in a potential Brexit deal with the EU.
The release of weak US monthly retail sales data for February by the Census Bureau in the early American session had caused the currency pair to spike higher. The currency pair has so far been unable to break above the crucial 1.40 psychological mark despite trading close to this level during today’s session.
The currency pair’s future performance is likely to be affected by UK political events given tomorrow’s empty UK economic docket.
The GBP/USD currency pair was trading at 1.3962 as at 16:38 GMT having recovered from a low of 1.3925. The GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at 148.28 having declined from a high of 149.17.
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