GBP/USD slides below 1.1200 on downbeat UK Retail Sales, Fedspeak, British political turmoil in focus

• GBP/USD renews intraday low after softer-than-expected UK data.
• UK Retail Sales in September shrank 6.9% YoY, weaker than expected and prior.
• Multi-year high Treasury yields also exert downside pressure.
• Updates from UK’s leadership race, and final Fedspeak before the pre-FOMC blackout will be crucial.

GBP/USD extends early-day losses on the disappointing UK Retail Sales figures during Friday’s initial London trading. In doing so, the cable pair refreshes intraday low around 1.1180 while slipping beneath the key 1.1200 support.

That said, the UK’s Retail Sales dropped to -6.9% YoY versus -5.0% expected and -5.6% revised down prior. Further, the monthly prints also missed the mark with -1.4% data versus -0.5% expected and -1.7% previous readings.

Contrary to the disappointment from the crucial component of the British Gross Domestic Product (GDP), hopes that the UK’s next leader will be more sound and can carve out the nation from the brink of recession also seem to restrict the Cable pair’s immediate downside. Additionally, the multi-year high US Treasury yields weigh on the cable price amid political uncertainty, until the next leader is found, as well as the hawkish Fed bets.

Earlier in the day, the UK’s GfK Consumer Confidence improved to -47 in September versus the record low of -49 marked the previous month which was the lowest level on record.

That said, the US 10-year Treasury bond yields refreshed a 14-year high the previous day, around 4.22% by the press time. Also, the two-year US Treasury yields rose to the highest levels since 2007 before recently taking rounds to 4.62%. It’s worth noting that Wall Street closed in the red following an initially upbeat performance while the S&P 500 Futures extend the previous day’s losses with a 0.50% intraday downside at the latest.

It should be noted that the upbeat US data joined hawkish Fedspeak to propel the yields and exert downside pressure on the GBP/USD prices the previous day. Additionally, UK PM Lizz Truss’ resignation made her the shortest-serving national leader and pleased the pair sellers on Thursday.

Moving on, the bears will be focusing on developments surrounding how the UK policymakers will find and vote to choose the next national leader. Also important will be the last dose of the Fed speakers’ comments before the blackout period preceding November’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Technical analysis

10-DMA joins a three-week-old ascending trend line to constitute 1.1200 as the key short-term key support, a break of which won’t hesitate to drag the quote towards the parity. Meanwhile, GBP/USD recovery remains elusive unless the quote stays below the five-week-old resistance line, near 1.1330 by the press time.