GBP Trade Balance comes in at -23.007B against -28.734B consensus

The United Kingdom’s Trade Balance, released today, showed a deficit of -23.007B. This figure was narrower than the market consensus expectation of -28.734B, representing a 19.9% positive surprise against forecasts. The previous reading was -26.046B.

Following the release, the British Pound saw varied movements across major pairs. Fifteen minutes after the data, EURGBP was down -0.6 pips, GBPAUD was down -4.9 pips, GBPCAD was up +1.3 pips, GBPCHF was unchanged at 0.0 pips, GBPJPY was up +8.2 pips, GBPNZD was up +9.2 pips, and GBPUSD was down -3.7 pips. These initial movements are generally small when compared to the historical median 1-hour moves for these pairs. For instance, GBPJPY’s +8.2 pips move at 15 minutes is below its median 1-hour move of 16 pips after past releases. Similarly, GBPUSD’s -3.7 pips move is well below its median 1-hour move of 13 pips.