GBP/USD edging above 1.28 this morning as important US data looms later on

The GBP/USD did not make any lasting progress again yesterday and later closed in the US at 1.2797. The range seen so far today has been covered 1.2787 to 1.2805. So, like the EUR/USD it remains in a tight range overall and volatility in both pairs has been subdued so far this week. Now later today we get some pretty important US data releases which could have an impact on the dollar and both the EUR/USD and the GBP/USD. Those are all due for release at 12.30pm GMT and concern the February Retail sales report and PPI (Producer Price Index) data. Also out are the latest weekly jobless claims data. Sales are forecast to rebound by 0.8%, following the 0.8% decline seen in January and Producer Prices are expected to remain close to the 2% rise on an annualised basis seen last month. I repeat what I have said about that data many times before- it can herald a shift in CPI further down the pipeline, so it is important data for the markets to digest today. The GBP/USD is currently trading at 1.2801