By: DailyForex.com
The Pound Sterling edged higher after the last economic news seemed to quell fears of the impending Brexit. According to the Office of National Statistics, the UK’s retail sales figures in July came in at 5.9% (year-over-year), far better than the decline to 4.2% that was expected in a recent analysts’ poll. On a month-over-month basis, the figures were 1.5% against expectations of a slight rise to 0.4% from negative -0.9% in June. In the wake of the June 23rd Brexit vote, that suggests that UK consumers are responding favorably to Britain’s departure from the European Union.
As reported at 10:49 am (BST) in London the GBP/USD was trading at $1.3167, a gain of 0.94%; the pair has ranged from a session low of $1.3031 to a peak of $1.3171. The EUR/GBP pair was down 0.71% to 0.8593 Pence, near the daily low of 0.8589 Pence.
Second Straight Surplus for Eurozone Current Account
The news that the Eurozone’s current account for June shows a surplus for the second consecutive month, albeit a narrow one, helped to push the Euro higher against the Dollar. The European central Bank reported that the current account was at €28.2 billion in June, up from May’s €31.8 billion (which was revised up from €30.8 billion). The EUR/USD pair was trading higher at $1.1318, up 0.24%.