The Pound Thai Baht (GBP THB) exchange rate dipped from a weekly high this morning as markets reacted to a report showing UK retail sales had slowed dramatically last month.
Pound (GBP) Weakened by Retail Report
The Pound was forced to retreat from a high struck overnight earlier this morning as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) published it latest retail figures.
The data revealed that retail sales slowed sharped in October, with sales growth last month only reaching 0.2%, a significant decline from the same point last year in which sales registered a healthy 2.4% growth.
The slowdown in sales appears to have been largely prompted by consumers tightening their pursue strings as household’s reign in spending as they are pressured by soaring inflation and weak wage growth.
With retailers gearing up for the key Christmas trading period the news has done little to inspire confidence in investors, many who fear that slowing sales could pin back economic growth in the fourth quarter.
Thai Baht (THB) Resilient Ahead of BoT Rate Decision
The Thai Baht is trading robustly today as markets await the Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) latest policy meeting tomorrow.
While the bank is widely expected to vote to leave interest rates on hold at 1.5%, investors will still be watching closely for any changes to the Bank’s policy outlook amidst ongoing disagreements between the central bank and the government.
A very public rift has developed between the BoT and Thailand’s government in recent months, with the Finance Ministry pushing for the Bank to slash interest rates to help stimulate growth.
However BoT Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob contests that the Bank’s ‘very accommodative’ monetary policy is already helping to fuel robust growth in the country.
GBP THB Forecast: BoT Outlook to Remain Neutral?
Looking ahead movement in the GBP THB exchange rate is likely to be largely driven by the BoT’s policy outlook tomorrow, with the Thai Baht likely to dip if the bank signals that rates are likely to remain on hold for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile the focus for GBP investors is likely to the UK’s latest Trade Balance later this week, with the Pound likely to strengthen on Friday if Britain’s trade deficit shrinks as expected.
Current Interbank Exchange Rates
At the time of writing the GBP THB exchange rate was trending around 43.4860 and the THB GBP exchange rate was trending around 0.0229.
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