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19/01/2018 – This Morning’s Exchange Rates

• Posted by currencies in Rate Alerts
• January 19, 2018
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This morning’s exchange rates are listed below this article. These rates are for indication only. For a live quote please contact us.

The recent pound gains against the U.S. dollar were trimmed this morning, after the release of downbeat UK retail sales dampened optimism over the strength of the economy, although overall weakness in the greenback kept the pair near one-and-a-half year highs.

The pound weakened after data this morning showed that UK retail sales declined much more than expected in December.

Retail sales volumes dropped 1.5 percent from November, the Office for National Statistics said, well below economists’ forecasts in a Reuters poll for a monthly dip of 0.6 percent and more than reversing a 1.0 percent rise in November.

That marked the biggest month-on-month fall since June 2016, the month Britons voted to leave the European Union, as well as the weakest December performance for seven years.

In other news, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that, if the UK wants access to the single market, it will have to contribute to the European Union budget and follow European jurisdiction.

Macron’s comments followed a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday.

GBP/EUR 1.1323
GBP/USD 1.3906
GBP/AED 5.0057
GBP/AUD 1.7328
GBP/CHF 1.3285
GBP/CAD 1.7249
GBP/NZD 1.9027
EUR/USD 1.2267
GBP/ZAR 16.833