GBP up on Sales, Philly Fed Next, EUR Regains 1.23

UK retail sales rose; Gold demand declined; Eurozone CPI steady; Swiss ZEW improved. US housing starts fell and jobless claims edged up. Philly Fed index is next. Latest Premium Insights saw EURUSD, USDJPY and US crude oil nearing targets, while AUDJPY and 1 cable all in progress.

GBP pushed higher after UK retail sales bested expectations. Annual sales remained at 3.3% in July vs. expectation of a fall to 2%. Core sales rose 2.8% from previous 1.6%. Monthly figures showed a decline but it was smaller than expected plus previous results were revised sharply higher. However, the positive data over the past two days is unlikely to change the view that the BOE could ease further. GBPUSD pushed from 1.5640s to 1.5707. It currently trades around 1.5690.

The World Gold Council reported today that global demand in Q2 fell 7% compared to Q2 2011. Imports to India dropped over 50% while imports to China declined 7%. The ongoing Eurozone crises led to 15% increase in demand from retail investors while the official sector demand more than doubled and reached a record high of 157.5 tonne.

Other reports showed that Eurozone CPI remained steady for the third month in a row in July at 2.4% but core CPI rose to 1.7% from previous 1.6% on annual basis and that Swiss ZEW economic expectations index improved in August to -33.3 from previous -42.5.

USDJPY extending gains, EURUSD, USDJPY, AUDJPY and 1 GBPUSD in progress. Crude oil is 5 cents away from its final target while the other cable play is stopped out. Direct Access to these Insights is found here: http://ashraflaidi.com/products/sub01/access/?a=675 Non subscribers can clikc here: http://ashraflaidi.com/products/sub01