Pound Falls After U.K. Retail Sales Data

05:04, 24th July 2014

(RTTNews) - The pound weakened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Thursday after data showed that the nation's retail sales rose less-than-expected in June.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that U.K. retail sales increased marginally in June as food sales recovered from the prior month.

Retail sales including auto fuel rose 0.1 percent in June from May, when it dropped 0.5 percent. Sales were expected to grow by 0.3 percent.

However, excluding auto fuel, sales were down by 0.1 percent. Economists had expected sales to rise 0.3 percent after falling 0.5 percent in May.

The pound fell to more than a 3-week low of 1.7008 against the U.S. dollar, from an early high of 1.7052. At yesterday's close, the pound was trading at 1.7041 against the greenback.

Moving away from early highs of 0.7887 against the euro and 1.5394 against the Swiss franc, the pound slipped to 3-day lows of 0.7925 and 1.5323, respectively. The pound closed yesterday's deals at 0.7898 against the euro and 1.5374 against the franc.

Against the yen, the pound fell to 172.61 from an early high of 173.03. The pair was quoted at 172.92 at yesterday's close.

If the pound extends its downtrend, it is likely to find the support around 0.798 against the euro, 1.52 against the Swiss franc, 1.69 against the greenback and 171.96 against the yen.