2010.08.1906:36:00UTC+00Pound Climbs To Multi-day Highs Against Euro And Yen On Strong U.K. Retail Sales

In early European deals on Thursday, the pound spiked up against its major counterparts after a report showed that U.K.'s retail sales rose more than expected in July. The pound strengthened to a 2-day high against the euro and a 3-day high against the yen.

U.K.'s seasonally adjusted retail sales volume including automotive fuel rose 1.1% month-on-month in July, following the 0.7% rise in June, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had forecast a 0.3% increase.

On an annual basis, retail sales including automotive fuel grew 1.3% in July after rising 1.1% in June. Retail sales increased for the sixth straight month.

U.K.'s public finance statistics and the money supply data - both for the month of July, which were also released at the same time likely influenced the pound.

The pound rose to a 2-day high of 0.8196 against the euro at 4:55 am ET Thursday. As of now, the pound is worth 0.8205 per euro, compared to 0.8241 hit late New York Wednesday. On the upside, 0.818 is seen as the next target level for the UK currency.

At 5:10 am ET Thursday, the pound climbed to a 3-day high of 134.05 against the yen. The pound-yen pair that closed yesterday's trading at 133.29 is now worth 133.90. If the pound gains further, it may likely target the 134.7 level.

The pound that slipped to 1.6150 against the franc and 1.5512 against the dollar before the U.K. economic reports released at 4:30 am ET rose sharply amid the release of the reports. At present, the pound is worth 1.5640 against the dollar and 1.6270 against the franc. The next upside target level for the pound is seen at 1.6340 against the franc and 1.569 against the dollar.

The franc climbed earlier as a report showed that Switzerland's trade surplus soared in July.

Switzerland's trade balance showed a surplus of CHF 2.88 billion in July compared to CHF 1.77 billion in June, the Federal Customs Administration said today. The expected surplus was CHF 1.82 billion.

Traders are now likely to focus on the New York session, in which the U.S., weekly jobless claims data for the week ended August 14, leading indicators for July and the results of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey for August are slated for release.

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