Euro Holds Gains Against Pounded Pound After Weaker UK Retail Sales

The Euro (EUR) held its gains against the British Pound (GBP) in early European trading on Friday, following weaker-than-expected UK Retail Sales data. The EUR/GBP cross rose to around 0.8570 as the pound edged lower.

In July, the total volume of goods sold in stores and online declined 0.5% month-over-month (MoM), marking the first fall since April, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Annual Retail Sales increased by 1.6%, but this was below the estimated 2.2% growth.

The Bank of England (BoE) is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% for the remainder of the year, with a strong majority of economists polled by Reuters agreeing on this outcome.