15.12.201703:05 Forex Analysis & Reviews: The Bank of England presented its forecast and retained rates

The British pound reacted with a fall against the US dollar after the morning growth against the background of a good report on retail sales. The fall occurred after the Bank of England decided to keep interest rates unchanged.

In the first half of the day, data on retail sales in the UK came out. It grew significantly, which was directly related to discounts that were held on "Black Friday" around the world.

According to the report, retail sales in the UK increased by 1.1% in November in comparison with October 2017. Economists predicted an increase in sales by 0.5%.

The main event for the British pound was the decision of the Bank of England to leave the key interest rate unchanged at 0.5% earlier today. The central bank also retained the volume of the asset purchase program at 435 billion pounds and the volume of the program of buying corporate bonds at 10 billion pounds. This decision was made with a unanimous vote at 9-0 vote.

With regard to the forecasts, the regulator expects moderate GDP growth over the next years but even now, some data point to a slowdown in the UK economy in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Bank of England also noted that inflation is close to a peak after reaching 3.1% in November this year while the government's fiscal plans will boost economic growth and inflation in the future. These are measures that were recently proposed by Philip Hammond, the British Secretary of the Treasury. It is expected that the budget presented in November will increase GDP growth by 0.3%. It is also expected to contribute to annual inflation which will be approximately 0.1% by the end of 2020.

The main focus was on Brexit. As the regulator noted, resolving the situation and reaching a compromise on Brexit remains the most important risk factor for the future growth prospects of the UK economy.

As for the technical picture of the GBPUSD pair, the situation as a whole has not changed.

There is a support for the level of 1.3415, which has been keeping the pair since morning. This keeps the British pound's growth potential quite good. However, it will be possible to speak about a more real upward trend only after the breakthrough and the exit to the large resistance level of 1.3460, where the trading instrument can return to the monthly highs in the 1.3560 area and even update them, reaching the range of 1.3640.