Pound Falls on Retail Data, Hammond's New Manifesto Comments
- U.K. retail sales post biggest quarterly drop since early 2010
- 2015 manifesto constrains ability to manage economy: Hammond
Shoppers sit and rest with multiple branded shopping bags, on Oxford Street, in London, U.K., on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. Black Friday first became a part of U.K. shopping culture in 2014 when a rush for bargains saw fights break out as crowds gathered outside stores, in 2016 however, only 21 percent of British consumers interviewed by consultant Retail Economics said they plan to shop for Black Friday bargains.
Photographer: Luke MacGregor/BloombergThe pound declined versus all but one of its Group-of-10 peers on weaker-than-forecast U.K. retail sales data and after Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said the government needs to “restate” its fiscal mandate in the next parliament.
Sterling pared its biggest weekly advance this year against the dollar after data showed retail sales recorded their largest drop in seven years in the first quarter. The U.K. currency extended its decline after Hammond said in Washington that the 2015 Conservative Party manifesto limited its ability to manage the economy.