The Pound (GBP) to US Dollar (USD) exchange rate was little changed on Friday despite the release of a new opinion poll which showed that the Scottish referendum will be too close to call and as US Retail Sales increased to a four-month high.
A new poll published by the Guardian newspaper showed that support for the no to independence campaign was running at 51% and support for the yes side was at 49%, with less than a week to go before the vote the outcome is unpredictable.
Following the publication of the poll the Pound eased against the US Dollar.
However, as the session progressed Sterling was able to regain its previous losses as investors embarked on a bout of US Dollar profit taking as the weekend approached.
Sterling also shrugged off data released earlier in the session, which showed that construction output in the UK stagnated in July as house building eased.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) output was unchanged in July from the preceding month. Annual growth dropped to its lowest level in eight-months.
Despite the seemingly disappointing data, orders for new work climbed at the fastest rate in a year, leaving economists confident that the UK’s construction sector will experience strong growth.
‘Signals from the survey and order book data suggest the construction industry has fared better than the official output data would have us believe over the summer. Upward revisions to the output data are possible. This would mean GDP could get revised up, painting a more buoyant picture of the economy than previously thought and adding to arguments for interest rate rises,’ said Markit’s chief economist Chris Williamson.
The US Dollar inched higher following the release of the latest US Retail Sales data.
According to the Washington based Commerce Department, retail sales rose 0.6% last month, in line with expectations. Retail sales for July were revised to a 0.3% gain from a previously estimated flat reading. The increase was the biggest seen in four months.
Pound Sterling to US Dollar Exchange Rate Forecast
Movement for Sterling will depend upon the outcome of next Thursday’s Scottish referendum vote.
With the outcome in doubt, the markets will remain jittery towards Sterling until the results are known.
In the meantime, we can expect GBP to experience volatility as more opinion polls are scheduled to be released over the weekend and next week.
Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Pound Sterling,
,US Dollar,1.6233 ,
Pound Sterling,,Euro,1.2561 ,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.7949 ,
Pound Sterling,,New Zealand Dollar,1.9903 ,
US Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.6162 ,
Euro,, Pound Sterling ,0.7958 ,
Australian Dollar,, Pound Sterling ,0.5570 ,
New Zealand Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.5024 ,
[/table]
