Pound Surges on Strong Retail Sales Data

The British pound strengthened against major currencies in the European session on Friday, following unexpectedly strong UK retail sales data for June. According to the Office for National Statistics, retail sales increased by 1.0 percent in June, after a rise of 1.2 percent in May. Economists had forecasted a 0.3 percent decline in June's sales.

This increase was largely due to warm weather boosting outdoor product sales, as seen in the data released on Friday.