Investing.com – The euro erased gains against the pound on Thursday, retreating from a five-day high, following a government report showing that U.K. retail sales rose unexpectedly in March.
EUR/GBP retreated from 0.8879, the pair’s highest since April 14 to hit 0.8842 during European morning trade, slipping 0.07%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8778, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.8881, the high of April 14.
The Office for National Statistics said retail sales volumes including automotive fuel rose 0.2% in March after dropping by a upwardly revised 0.9% the month before. Analysts had expected retail sales to drop by 0.5% last month.
The ONS said the rise was driven by stronger food sales and non-store retailing, with garden centers and sports good stores helped by dry weather in March.
A separate report said that U.K. public sector net borrowing, excluding financial sector interventions, came in at GBP141.1 billion, comfortably below the GBP145.9 billion predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility at last month's annual budget.
Meanwhile, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD surging 0.86% to hit 1.4646.
Also Thursday, the Ifo Institute said its business climate index for Germany slipped to 110.4 in April from a reading of 111.1 in March. The decline was in line with expectations.
EUR/GBP retreated from 0.8879, the pair’s highest since April 14 to hit 0.8842 during European morning trade, slipping 0.07%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8778, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.8881, the high of April 14.
The Office for National Statistics said retail sales volumes including automotive fuel rose 0.2% in March after dropping by a upwardly revised 0.9% the month before. Analysts had expected retail sales to drop by 0.5% last month.
The ONS said the rise was driven by stronger food sales and non-store retailing, with garden centers and sports good stores helped by dry weather in March.
A separate report said that U.K. public sector net borrowing, excluding financial sector interventions, came in at GBP141.1 billion, comfortably below the GBP145.9 billion predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility at last month's annual budget.
Meanwhile, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD surging 0.86% to hit 1.4646.
Also Thursday, the Ifo Institute said its business climate index for Germany slipped to 110.4 in April from a reading of 111.1 in March. The decline was in line with expectations.