GBPEUR/GBPUSD

The Pound rallied for the first time in three days against the Dollar and the Euro, after a government report showed that UK retail sales increased for a second successive month in November, while consumer price expectations also rose. Sterling bounced back from a low of 1.5550, a key area of support, to 1.5630 in London and the Pound also reached a high of 1.18 versus the Euro, up 0.6% on the day.
Sales climbed 0.3% from October, when they increased 0.7%, and the Pound stopped the rot, albeit temporarily, as the report gave an indication that the Bank of England will need to start thinking about higher interest rates to combat inflation. Sterling has lost 1.5% in the past week on concern that British banks face exposure to the European sovereign debt crisis and the economic recovery is losing momentum with house prices falling and unemployment up....read more