• GBP/USD found the gas for a thin rally on Friday.
• Upbeat UK Retail Sales figures helped the Pound find its footing.
• A broad-market pivot out of the Greenback further aided Dollar pairs.

GBP/USD extended a near-term recovery rally to wrap up the trading week, inching back in a familiar congestion zone and clawing back meager gains from the midweek’s backslide into the 1.3000 handle. The Pound Sterling was bolstered by better-than-expected UK Retail Sales figures, with gains further buoyed by a broad-market easing in Greenback bidding.

UK Retail Sales bounced 0.3% in September, falling back from August’s 1.0% but still sticking well above the expected -0.3% contraction. After a raft of bad data from the UK, GBP bidders got the break they needed. Cable bulls will now have to settle in for the long wait to next week’s UK Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) figures, due next Thursday.

US housing and construction figures came in moderately mixed on Friday, further entrenching investors in a buying mood and further crushing any fears of an economic slowdown right around the corner. The US’ “soft landing” scenario appears to have been fully averted with growth and activity metrics easily beating expectations, and upbeat Retail Sales figures releases earlier this week further make the case.