• GBP/AUD edged higher on Friday after data showed British retail sales unexpectedly rose in December.
• British retail sales rose unexpectedly last month, supported by strong online demand, adding to signs of economic momentum following finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget, data on Friday showed.
• Friday’s data added to cautiously upbeat signals on economic activity for Reeves following her tax-raising November budget, despite further signs of labor market cooling and persistently high inflation.
• For the fourth quarter as a whole, retail sales fell by 0.3%, reflecting declines in November and October, which the ONS said would exert a 0.01 percentage-point drag on overall economic output.
• Immediate resistance is located at 1.9807 (Daily high ), any close above will push the pair towards 2.0034 (38.2%fib).
• Strong support is seen at 1.9692(23.6%fib) and break below could take the pair towards 1.9644(Feb 11th 2025 low).
Recommendation: Good to sell around 1.9760 , with stop loss of 1.9900 and target price of 1.9670
