2016.08.1805:56:00UTC+00Pound Climbs As U.K. Retail Sales Rebound

The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Thursday, after data showed that U.K. retail sales rebounded in July.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the U.K. retail sales volume including automotive fuel climbed 1.4 percent month-on-month in July, reversing a 0.9 percent fall in June. Sales were expected gain only 0.1 percent.

Excluding auto fuel, retail sales volume advanced 1.5 percent after decreasing 0.9 percent in the prior month. This was much faster than the expected 0.3 percent increase.

On a yearly basis, growth in overall retail sales improved to 5.9 percent in July from 4.3 percent. Sales excluding auto fuel advanced 5.4 percent, faster than the 3.9 percent rise in June. Economists had forecast overall sales volume to grow 4.2 percent and sales excluding auto fuel to rise 3.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the European stock markets traded higher, as investors can heave a sigh of relief after the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes showed there is a lack of consensus among policy makers over whether to raise rates soon.

The FOMC minutes highlighted improvements in the economy but there was no clear consensus among officials over the outlook for growth, hiring and inflation. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who is also a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, said in a speech on Wednesday that a single rate hike will likely suffice for the "foreseeable future."

In the Asian trading today, the pound held steady against its major rivals.

In the early European trading, the pound rose to nearly a 2-week high of 1.3166 against the U.S. dollar, a 6-day high of 0.8603 against the euro and a 3-day high of 1.2606 against the Swiss franc, from early lows of 1.3031, 0.8672 and 1.2515, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.38 against the greenback, 0.82 against the euro and 1.33 against the franc.

Against the yen, the pound edged up to 131.75 from an early 2-day low of 130.02. The pound may test resistance near the 144.00 region.

Looking ahead, European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting accounts are set to be published at 7:30 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended August 13, the Conference Board's U.S. leading indicators index for July and Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing index for August are slated for release.

At 10:05 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley is expected to speak about economic conditions at a Federal Reserve Bank of New York press briefing.

At 4:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams will deliver a speech on the economic outlook at a luncheon hosted by Anchorage Economic Development Corp in Anchorage, United States.