GBP/USD: Boris mismanagement of coronacrisis outweighs hopeful retail sales report

GBP/USD is attempting to recover from the BoE decision as Bailey seems burned out. Upbeat UK Retail Sales compete with concerns about government incompetence around coronavirus, Yohay Elam, an analyst at FXStreet, informs.

Key quotes

“UK Retail Sales figures for May showed a leap of 12% – nearly double the expectations – but still down over 13% yearly. The economy is rebounding but may still stabilize at lower levels – a phenomenon seen also in the US. Initial Jobless Claims stopped their decline and stabilized at 1.5 million last week while Continuing Claims consolidated around 20 million according to data for the previous seven days.” 

“The BoE settled for an increase of £100 billion in its bond-buying scheme and hinted it is slowing down the pace of purchases. Moreover, one dissenter that opposed the expansion also weighed on the pound.”

“Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under fresh criticism after abandoning plans to use a proprietary contact tracing application but rather technology developed by Google and Apple. The issue joins a long list of troubles as coronavirus cases and deaths remain at higher levels than European peers. The slow pace of exiting the lockdown is another downer.” 

“US COVID-19 hospitalizations and infections continue rising in the Sun Belt, yet the pace is not as alarming as beforehand and markets seem calmer. Nevertheless, a rally planned by President Donald Trump in Oklahoma may turn into a ‘super-spreader’ event according to some.”