Forex Pros — The euro was almost unchanged against the pound on Thursday, after official data showed that retail sales in the U.K. fell more than twice as fast as expected in May, more than reversing the previous month’s gains.
EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8758, up just 0.03%, after pulling back from 0.8722, the pair’s lowest since May 31, during European morning trade.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8665, the low of May 31 and resistance at 0.8824, Wednesday’s high.
The Office for National Statistics said retail sales volumes, including automotive fuel, fell 1.4% last month, more than reversing April’s 1.1% gain and well below forecasts for a fall of 0.5%. It was the biggest fall since January 2010.
Year-on-year, retail sales rose at an annualized rate of 0.2% in May after increasing by 2.4% in April. Analysts had expected year-on-year retail sales to rise at an annualized rate of 1.7% last month.
The statistics office said the fall in retail sales was mainly attributable to the largest monthly decline in food store sales since June 2008.
Meanwhile, the euro was lower against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.45% to hit 1.4115.
Earlier in the day, concerns over Greece’s debt crisis escalated after a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council said that the European bailout fund should be doubled if private investors are to contribute to additional refinancing aid for the heavily indebted nation.
ForexPros.com
