FX round-up: Pound little changed despite better-than-expected lending data

Friday saw another sudued session of trading in global foreign exchange markets.

With most traders away from their desks due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday, the pound was only slighly higher despite stronger-than-expected readings on mortgage and personal lending in the UK for November.

According to the Office for National Statistics, net consumer credit in Britain rose by £1.3bn last month, exceeding the prior six-month average of £1.1bn and the consensus projection for £0.9bn.

That, according to Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics, showed that recession risks "remain" low.

Against that backdrop, cable put on 0.12% to 1.0225 and was 0.12% higher versus the euro.

Euro/dollar was also a tad higher, rising 0.23% to 1.29290, after Eurostat reported a pick up in euro area inflation to a year-on-year rate of 1.0% after a print of 0.7% (consensus: 0.9%).

Dollar/yen on the other hand was drifting lower by 0.09% at 109.4360.

In parallel, euro area unemployment figures for October and German ones for November were released showing continued solid conditions in jobs markets on the Continent.

However, retail sales figures for GErmany surprised sharply to the downside, revealing a month-on-month drop of 1.9% for October (consensus: 0.2%).

Similarly, GfK's UK consumer confidence index for December was steady at the prior month level of -14.

For Staton, client director strategy at GfK: "In the face of Brexit and election uncertainty, consumers are cleary in a 'wait-and-see' mode."