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The Pound Rises on Retail Sales Data

The Pound Rises on Retail Sales Data

The pound rose on Thursday, after better-than-expected retail sales figures were announced for the month of June.

UK sales figures received a boost especially from the electrical goods sector, mainly due to the World Cup football tournament.

The monthly rise totalled at 0.7 per cent, higher than the forecast of 0.5 per cent.  Against the US dollar the pound rose to $1.5238 after the news, while the FTSE share index rose to 5,216.18 thus making up for previous losses.

Meanwhile the dollar sank versus the Japanese yen, after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke aired his views on the outlook for the US economy.  Saying that the outlook is “unusually uncertain”, Bernanke spurred a round of nerves for investors.

Across financial markets, stocks were sold while government bonds were purchased.

However, analysts commented that the foreign exchange market is still waiting for the results of European bank stress tests.  This, it appears, will remain the main focus and until the situation is clearer, other factors such as Bernanke’s comments are unlikely to have a major effect on forex.