The pound maintains a positive attitude. Retail sales in the UK are growing

The British pound maintains an upward trend against the US dollar, receiving support from data on retail sales in the UK.

• Retail sales rose in February by 0.8%, against the January decline of -0.2%. On an annualized basis, the growth rate remains at 1.5%, while analysts had expected a value of 0.9%.
• The base retail sales index increased by 0.6%, against the decline in the previous period at the level of -0.2%. In turn, on an annualized basis, the growth slowed to 1.1%, which is lower than the previous level at 1.3%.

Also, do not expect a significant increase in the British in anticipation of the results of the meeting of the Bank of England, as market participants remain somewhat cautious about the pound before the publication of voting results on the interest rate. See “Market Focus”.

Technical analysis: The pair GBP/USD was fixed above the resistance line of the rising channel on H1, which is a signal of a possible strengthening of the uptrend. The main support levels that are worth considering for purchases are 1.4085, 1.4027, which correspond to the levels of 23.6 and 38.2 Fibonacci on H1. Also, the decision on trade should be made according to the results of the meeting of the Bank of England.

Fig. GBP/USD. The current price is $ 1.4151.

Alexander Sivtsov