Retail Sales Force Pound Down

An unexpectedly negative retail sales report published today in London forced the pound down versus several currencies as it indicates that economic struggle in the country is still a reality in the U.K., shunning investors from pound-priced assets.

The pound touched a two-month low versus the U.S. dollar after the Office for National Statistics published the first retraction in retail sales in the U.K. in six months, indicating that the economic recovery process in the nation will take longer than expected and forcing the pound down specially versus the greenback and the yen, which benefited from a risk aversion scenario today after concerns regarding Greece’s debt situation emerged. The euro was one of the few currencies that didn’t advance versus the sterling as Greece, being an Eurozone member, affected the outlook for the bloc’s currency in a considerably negative way.

Even if retail sales fluctuate significantly and do not necessarily indicate severe problems for the British economy, the data broke a series of positive figures and was enough for setting the pound down on a day market by risk aversion, as analysts explain.

GBP/USD traded at 1.6150 as of 14:57 GMT from a previous rate of 1.6336. GBP/JPY traded at 145.60 from 146.65.

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