The UK has published retail sales figures that have influenced the GBPUSD movement during trading on Friday (December 19, 2025).
In November, UK retail sales were reported at 0.6% year-on-year (YoY), matching the growth of the previous month but falling short of the Trading Central forecast of 1.4% YoY.
On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, retail sales decreased by 0.1%, which is below the forecast of 0.4% MoM.
Following the release of these figures, GBPUSD displayed volatility and showed a tendency to decline.
This volatility suggests that market participants are still reacting to the hawkish rate cut by the Bank of England (BoE) from the previous Thursday. The BoE officially lowered interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%, aligning with market expectations.
This cut is viewed as a hawkish move, considering that 4 out of 9 members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain interest rates. This indicates that the BoE is unlikely to pursue further interest rate cuts in the near term.
However, the retail sales data released today falling short of expectations indicates a cooling economy in the UK for November. This information could influence the BoE’s decisions regarding future interest rate cuts.
As a result, there is a negative sentiment surrounding GBPUSD.
