The Pound has edged up against the US Dollar as retail sales grew at their strongest annual rate in two years and the latest services Purchasing Managers Index posted a better than expected increase.
The data could boost Optimism for the health of the UK economy as the British Retail Consortium said that the total value of retail sales grew by 4.4% in February compared with the previous year and up by 0.3% in January. The BRC data shows that February’s growth rate is the strongest in over three years.
“February saw growth across all parts of retailing, with big-ticket goods and items for the home recovering particularly well, possibly reflecting better conditions in the housing market,” said BRC director-general Helen Dickinson.
The services PMI came in at 51.8 beating the forecasted figure of 51.
“So far, the PMIs suggest that the economy will have grown by 0.1 percent in the first quarter, barely making up for any of the 0.3 percent decline seen in the final quarter of last year,” said Chris Williamson, Markit’s chief economist. “However, growth could turn out stronger than this as there’s good reason to believe that at least some of the weakness in manufacturing and construction was due to business being disrupted by bad weather, meaning a brighter picture may emerge in March,” Williamson said in a statement.
On Wednesday the Bank of England’s leading policy makers are due to meet for a two-day meeting to decide whether they will continue to implement their monetary easing measures.
Current GBP Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate is currently trading at 1.1633
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate is currently trading at 1.5194
The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate is currently trading at 1.4845
The Pound Sterling to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate is currently trading at 1.8339
The Pound Sterling to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate is currently trading at 1.5591
The Pound Sterling to Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate is currently trading at 141.3700
These exchange rates were correct as of 09:45am
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