Pound Drops After Weak Consumer Confidence Data

The pound dropped against most of its major rivals during the overnight trade as a report showed that consumer confidence fell in April. According to the Nationwide Building Society the index of sentiment slipped to 43 from a revised 45 in March, when it rebounded from a record low. Lower confidence reflects a worse assessment of both general economy and personal financial situation. Looking ahead to today, retail sales figures headline the economic calendar, with the expectations for numbers to increase by 0.8% in April following the 0.2% rise in March. In addition, the CBI Industrial Trends survey for May is also scheduled for today, with the expectations for the total orders balance to increase to –9 from –11 in April. And as a final point, BoE Deputy Governor Charles Bean is due to give a speech in Belfast today. Mr Bean is regarded as one of the major swing voters on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Expect for the pound to remain volatile on the medium term as fragility of the economic recovery and persistently high inflation weight on demand for the UK currency.