After strengthening at the end of last week due to positive retail sales data, it is still strong this morning against the euro and the dollar.
UK retail sales rose by 1.4% in April following a fall of 1.2% the month before. This surprised markets who had predicted a further decline. The pound was supported further after Bank of England official, Huw Pill, said that interest rates will need to be raised further in order to tackle high inflation.
It’s a quiet week ahead for economic data releases in the UK, however, PMI data will be released tomorrow, indicating how the services and manufacturing industries have performed in May so far.
