• EUR/GBP continues to challenge 0.8600 as markets pull back from GBP.
• BoE rate cuts and social unrest weigh on Pound Sterling sentiment.
• Race to the bottom as both currencies underperform following bad EU Retail Sales.

EUR/GBP is in a race to the bottom, with the Pound Sterling winning handily as the pair gets bolstered back into 13-week highs despite a misprint in European Retail Sales figures. Market positioning in the Pound Sterling is still heavily-weighted towards buyers, and market flows are rebalancing out of the GBP with the Bank of England (BoE) racing into a cutting cycle.

The Pound Sterling is seeing a steady decline after the BoE trimmed interest rates to 5.0% from 5.25% recently, sparking outflows from broad-market positioning that was previously heavily-weighted in favor of the GBP. With social unrest throughout the UK over the weekend and into the new week, investors are leery about the economic outlook for the kingdom, investors are paring back bullish bets on the Pound Sterling and waiting for signs of stabilization and a better read on how many more time the BoE will cut in 2024.