Sterling falls as UK retails figures less than expected

Published: 17 June, 2011

Today's currency update shows sterling fell against the US dollar on Thursday after figures were released that showed UK retail sales fell by more than expected.

Currency rates - June 17

EURO/GBP - 1.1380
US$/GBP - 1.6120
CHF/GBP - 1.3708
CAN$/GBP - 1.5857
AUS$/GBP - 1.5294
ZAR/GBP - 11.038
JPY/GBP - 129.86
HKD/GBP - 12.571
NZD/GBP - 2.003
SEK/GBP - 10.461
US$/EURO - 1.4156

It had added further weight to calls for the Bank of England to keep interest rates on hold. Higher fuel costs and ongoing uncertainty over employment prospects kept consumer spending in check. Data showed a 1.4% drop in sales since April - beating estimates of a 0.6% drop. However, April's figures could have been much higher than normal due to 'Royal Wedding Fever' and the numerous bank holidays. Sterling did however jump against the euro, hitting €1.1460/£1 briefly as European officials failed to reassure investors that they were close to a second bail out of Greece.

In the euro zone, the euro plummeted yesterday hitting a record low against the Swiss franc and a three week low against the US dollar as investors fled to safe-haven assets on mounting concerns Greece's problems are far from resolution. In a week that saw Greece's credit rating cut to CCC - near junk status - Greek and Portuguese bond yields climbed to record highs. It has also been a week of disagreement between Germany and the European Central Bank over the best way to deal with the Greek crisis, which has also added to the euro's demise. It has dropped by 4.2% since June 7.

The US dollar strengthened against most currencies on Thursday as risk aversion related to the Greek crisis saw investors scrambling towards safer assets. Data also showed that US housing figures and jobless benefits claims beat expectations. This helped ease concerns to a slight extent, but it was a secondary issue to the issues in Greece. The US dollar has strengthened by nearly 2% against the euro this week, and with no end to the Greek crisis in sight, we could see it run even further.

Elsewhere, Brazil's central bank said it will continue with its strategy of raising interest rates for a "sufficiently long" period even as the country's inflation outlook shows signs of improving. Commodity based currencies dropped off the back of a pull back in risk appetite, but recovered towards the end of trading as volatility calmed down.

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