Euro trades flat against British Pound as UK Retail Sales beat forecasts
EUR/GBP trades little changed on Friday as stronger-than-expected UK Retail Sales data lends some support to the British Pound (GBP) after it came under pressure following the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy announcement on Thursday.
The Euro traded near the 0.8587 mark against the British Pound on Friday, displaying only minor fluctuations. This stability occurred as robust UK Retail Sales data bolstered support for the Pound. The Retail Sales figures exceeded expectations, with a 0.5% month-over-month increase in August, contrasting the forecasted decline of 0.2%.
On an annual basis, sales grew by 2.4%, surpassing the predicted 1.9%. Excluding fuel, Retail Sales rose by 0.6% month-over-month and 2.7% year-on-year. Despite the Bank of England maintaining interest rates at 3.75% for the sixth consecutive meeting, policymakers expressed concerns over inflation risks. The Bank of Japan, however, increased its short-term interest rate to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, aligning with expectations.
ECB President Christine Lagarde indicated that economic growth was "a bit more promising than we thought," while acknowledging the potential absence of second-round effects from rising oil prices.
Written by urgent.news from FXStreet's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.