UK gilts suffer ahead of PM May’s departure on June 7; April retail sales better-than-expected

The United Kingdom’s gilts suffered during European session Friday ahead of Prime Minister Theresa May’s departure from the Cabinet on June 7 amid a better-than-expected reading of the country’s retail sales for the month of April, released early today.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, jumped 2 basis points to 0.973 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields also surged 2 basis points to 1.536 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year traded nearly 2 basis points higher at 0.659 percent by 11:10GMT.

The UK’s vexed membership of the EU cut short the career of a third Conservative Prime Minister following today’s announcement that Theresa May is to stand down on June 7. However, her successor will inherit a minority government reliant on the DUP, a party divided over Brexit and suffering from widespread rejection by the electorate, if the reports regarding yesterday’s EU parliamentary elections are any guide. It is, in short, a poisoned chalice, Commerzbank.

According to data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales were flat on March, and higher than the 0.3 percent fall expected. In the three months to April, sales increased by 1.8 percent, with a record quarter for the online sector.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 remained 0.80 percent higher at 7,288.25 by 11:25GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained neutral at -28.06 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex