FX roundup: Sterling ekes out mild gains as Trump inaugurated as US president
Sterling eked out mild gains against most major currencies, barring the euro, as global markets turned their attentions to the inauguration of Donald Trump, now US president.
At about 17:05 GMT, sterling was flat at $1.2342, but was down 0.19% to €1.1552.
The British unit was up versus the commodity currencies, and so too the US dollar as Trump took the podium in a windy, wet Washington.
"It seems highly unlikely that the new (US) president will provide any surprises in his inauguration speech," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
"Investors will come back on Monday ready to see what executive orders Trump has in store for them," he added in a statement.
Returning to sterling, London Capital Group senior market analyst Jasper Lawler observed that forex markets will be tuned in on Tuesday next week to the UK Supreme Court's Brexit ruling.
The court is seen upholding an earlier ruling that parliamentary approval is need to trigger Article 50 on the Lisbon treaty. It was likely the government was already preparing a bill for vote.
"The deterioration in economic data and the potential political upheaval next week will test the resolve of the recent recovery in sterling," said Lawler in a statement.
"Nonetheless, we still view the move in the British pound following Prime Minister (Theresa May's) speech as a game-changer and expect GBP/USD to hold $1.20."
On the economic data, UK retail sales fell the most since April 2012 as an increase in average store prices deterred shoppers.
The Office for National Statistics said retail sales, including auto fuel, declined 1.9% in December compared to a month ago, far worse than the 0.1% decrease expected by analysts and following a 0.2% month-on-month rise in November.
Compared to the same month a year ago, retail sales rose 4.3% in December, missing forecasts for a 7.5% increase and following a 6.6% year-on-year gain in November.
At about 17:05 GMT, sterling was up 0.24% to A$1.6360, up 0.13% to C$1.6458, up 0.45% to NZ$1.7247 and up 0.32% to 16.7868 rand. It gained a slim 0.04% to 141.817 yen.
Similarly, the greenback was down 0.19% to €0.9359. But it was up 0.22% to A$1.3254, up 0.16% to C$1.3339, up 0.54% to NZ$1.3983 and up 0.37% to 13.6103 rand. The dollar improved 0.08% to fetch 114.95 yen.
"A degree of trepidation has crept into markets in the lead up to the first week of Donald Trump's presidency," added Lawler.
"Markets have listened as Donald Trump talked the talk and they will be watching to see how he walks the walk."