Investing.com - U.K. retail sale volumes fell less than expected in January, easing concerns over the health of the country’s economy, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said the result of its index of U.K. retailers fell by 22.0 points to 39.0 this month from 61.0 in December. Analysts had expected the index to fall by 31.0 points to 30.0 in January.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates higher sales volume, below indicates lower.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5137 from around 1.5142 ahead of the announcement, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7466 from 0.7465 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.55%, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1%, while Germany's DAX dipped 0.3%.