The Pound Sterling was pushed higher of reports that a Brexit deal has been brokered. However, analysts caution that there is still an issue with the formal approval given the lack of support from the leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. The DUP has insisted that the deal proposed by the British Prime Minister was not acceptable in its present form. The British Parliament has imposed an October 19th deadline for an agreement, after which Boris Johnson would be compelled to request another Brexit postponement.
The GBP/USD was trading at $1.2914, a gain of 0.7694%, moving off the session low of $1.27409 as of 11:15 am in London. The EUR/GBP is trading lower at 0.8608 Pence, down 0.3231%; the pair has ranged from 0.85743 Pence to 0.86480 Pence.
UK Sales Data Mixed
Data from the UK did little to move sentiment, despite the fact that it was better than anticipated. The Office of National Statistics reported that retail sales not including fuel improved to 3.0% on an annualized basis, and 0.2% on a monthly basis. Including fuel, on a monthly basis retail sales was at 0.0%, as expected, while the previous reading was revised lower to -0.3%, while on an annualized basis, retail sales was reported at 3.1%, missing the estimated 3.2% but better than revised 2.6% of the previous reading.