The GBP/MYR currency pair settled above Friday’s low of 5.6136, its weakest level since October 14th, after a surprise surge in UK retail sales – a sign that consumers are still spending despite elevated inflation.
UK retail sales volumes grew 0.5% month-over-month in September, confounding market consensus of a 0.2% drop, following a revised up 0.6% growth in August.
This way, sales were brought to their highest level since July 2022.
In other data, UK’s manufacturing sector registered the weakest contraction since October 2024 in October, as businesses recorded the fastest production growth since September 2024.
And, UK’s services sector growth remained slow in October, flash PMI data showed.
Yet, the business survey “brings hope that September was a low point for the economy from which business conditions are starting to improve,” S&P economist Chris Williamson noted.
Meanwhile, annual consumer price inflation in Malaysia was reported to have picked up to 1.5% in September from 1.3% in August. It has been the highest annual inflation since February.
Market consensus had pointed to an acceleration to 1.4%.
Malaysia’s annual core CPI inflation, which excludes fresh food items and administered costs, picked up to 2.1% in September, or the highest since October 2023.
Developments surrounding US-China trade negotiations also remain in focus. US President Donald Trump is to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week as part of a trip to Asia. Trump has said he expects to secure a fair trade deal with China.
The exotic Forex pair lost 0.99% for the week.
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