Pound bid on UK retails sales - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ noted that there were very strong retail sales data for April for the UK overnight.

Key Quotes:

"Headline sales rose 1.3% m/m and March's fall was revised significantly to -0.5% vs -1.3%. It shows the consumer is quite active ahead of Brexit and the revision to the March data suggest that some of the gloom over economic activity slowing sharply ahead of Brexit has been unwarranted. If this better tone is maintained, the data would tend to counter the need for another interest rate cut, especially as oil and commodity prices have firmed.

The BoE only puts half of sterling's slide down to Brexit this year, the rest has a lot to do with the economy, rates, etc. That may need to be partly repriced. We still like GBP on the crosses."