The Great Britain pound rallied today as poor macroeconomic data from Europe increased the appeal of the UK currency as a safe haven against problems in the eurozone. The sterling trimmed its gains versus the euro as Britain’s retail sales unexpectedly fell.
The German Ifo Business Climate Index fell from 106.7 in March to 104.4 in April. Analysts have hoped that the gauge would stay little-changed. The report added to signs of economic weakness of the eurozone.
The economic environment in Britain itself is not much better, reducing the attractiveness of the pound. Confederation of British Industry reported that the Realized Sales index was at -1 in April, while forecaster promised it to rise to 7.
GBP/USD rose from 1.5234 to 1.5264 and GBP/JPY advanced from 151.56 to 151.90 as of 21:09 GMT today. EUR/GBP was at 0.8521, while earlier it fell from 0.8529 to 0.8495.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Great Britain Pound,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.