British pound sterling outlook for Friday: GBP faces a slew of economic data releases from the Bank of England

A look at the spot foreign exchange markets at 16:40 on Thuresday in London shows:

The pound to euro exchange rate is 0.27 pct in the red at 1.1662.
The pound to US dollar exchange rate is 0.5 pct higher at 1.5207.
The pound to Australian dollar exchange rate is 0.2 pct higher at 1.5737.

NB: These are spot market quotes - your bank will affix their own discretionary spread to the figures, however an independent FX provider guarantees to undercut your bank's offer, thus delivering you more currency. Please find out more here.
A look at tomorrow's GBP drivers

@ 00:01: Mid-night sees the release of Gfk Consumer Confidence (May). Consensus is for a reading of -26. Previous was -27.

The GfK Group Consumer Confidence is a leading index that measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity.

"Normally, a high reading is positive for the GBP, while a low reading is bearish," say FX specialists Alpari.


@ 9:30: Mortgage approvals, 54.500K consensus, 53.504K previous. These mortgage numbers are from the Bank of England - Generally, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the GBP

@ 9:30: M4 Money Supply, 0.3% was the previous number. The M4 Money Supply released by the Bank of England measures all the sterling in circulation.

Alpari say: "It is considered as an important indicator of inflation, as monetary expansion adds pressure to the exchange rates. Normally, an acceleration of the M4 money is considered as positive for the GBP, whereas a decline is negative."

@9:30: More from the Bank of England - Consumer credit, £0.4B consensus, £0.5B previously. UK Net Lending to Individuals, £0.9B consensus, £0.9B previously.

For the pound to euro exchange rate we see a great deal of data coming out of the Eurozone.

It is however the release of the core Consumer Price Index by Eurostat that will have the attention of foreign exchange traders.

Consensus estimates are for a reading of 1.1 pct and last month we saw a reading of pct.

Generally, a high reading is seen as positive or bullish for the EUR - will we see the pound to euro exchange rate retreat back into the mid 1.16's on the back of tomorrow's data?