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Sterling hit a two-month low against the dollar on Thursday after a surprise fall in UK retail sales that suggested consumer demand remains sluggish and would keep the British economy weak. The pound extended its losses against a broadly stronger dollar, which shot to a three-month high against a basket of currencies as investors wound up short positions in the US currency before closing their books for year-end.
Government figures showed UK retail sales volumes fell 0.3 percent on the month in November, confounding expectations for a rise of 0.4 percent. Retail sales dropped at their fastest pace since May, while data from October was revised up to show growth of 0.6 percent from an earlier 0.4 percent estimate. "There had been speculation the figures were going to be better than expected, so the announcement disappointed the market," said Paul Robson, strategist at RBS in London.
By 1511 GMT, sterling was down 1.2 percent on the day at $1.6140, after falling as low as $1.6080, its weakest since October 15. The pound fell nearly 1.5 cents following the weak sales figures, and was poised to clock its worst daily performance in around two months.
Sterling reversed a climb to a one-week high against the dollar on Wednesday following surprisingly upbeat UK employment data. The euro traded slightly higher on the day against sterling at 89.00 pence, having climbed to a session high around 89.20 pence in the aftermath of the UK data. The single European currency recovered from a one-month low around 88.52 pence hit in early trade, clawing back ground after momentarily sliding below its 200-day moving average around 88.73 pence.

Copyright Reuters, 2009

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