Investing.com - The euro fell to six-week lows against the pound on Thursday after data indicated that the euro zone economy is weakening, while unexpectedly strong U.K. retail sales data bolstered demand for sterling.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8493 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since February 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8506, dropping 0.69%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8455, the low of February 11 and resistance at 0.8573, the session high.
The euro weakened broadly after data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone deteriorated to a three-month low in March.
The euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 46.6 from 47.9 in February, compared to expectations for a reading of 48.2.
The euro zone services PMI fell to a five-month low of 46.5 from 47.9 in March.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI fell to 48.9 in March from 50.3 the previous month and the country’s services sector expanded at the slowest rate in four months.
The French manufacturing PMI came in at 43.9 in March, unchanged from February’s reading, while service sector activity in France fell to a 49-month low of 41.9.
Elsewhere, the European Central Bank announced that it will continue to supply emergency funding to Cyprus's banks until next Monday.
The ECB said that further funding would only be considered if an agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on a bailout is in place.
The pound was boosted after official data showed that U.K. retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.1% in February, blowing past expectations for a 0.5% increase, and the strongest increase since March 2012.
Retail sales rose 2.6% year-on-year, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.5% increase.
A separate report showed that U.K. public sector borrowing came to GBP2.8 billion in February, GBP9.0 billion lower than the same month last year, when net borrowing was GBP11.8 billion.
The euro was pared losses against the dollar and the yen, with EUR/USD down 0.17% to 1.2912 after falling to session lows of 1.2880, and EUR/JPY down 0.67% to 123.35, up from lows of 122.86.
The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on existing home sales and official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia later Thursday.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8493 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since February 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8506, dropping 0.69%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8455, the low of February 11 and resistance at 0.8573, the session high.
The euro weakened broadly after data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone deteriorated to a three-month low in March.
The euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 46.6 from 47.9 in February, compared to expectations for a reading of 48.2.
The euro zone services PMI fell to a five-month low of 46.5 from 47.9 in March.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI fell to 48.9 in March from 50.3 the previous month and the country’s services sector expanded at the slowest rate in four months.
The French manufacturing PMI came in at 43.9 in March, unchanged from February’s reading, while service sector activity in France fell to a 49-month low of 41.9.
Elsewhere, the European Central Bank announced that it will continue to supply emergency funding to Cyprus's banks until next Monday.
The ECB said that further funding would only be considered if an agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on a bailout is in place.
The pound was boosted after official data showed that U.K. retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.1% in February, blowing past expectations for a 0.5% increase, and the strongest increase since March 2012.
Retail sales rose 2.6% year-on-year, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.5% increase.
A separate report showed that U.K. public sector borrowing came to GBP2.8 billion in February, GBP9.0 billion lower than the same month last year, when net borrowing was GBP11.8 billion.
The euro was pared losses against the dollar and the yen, with EUR/USD down 0.17% to 1.2912 after falling to session lows of 1.2880, and EUR/JPY down 0.67% to 123.35, up from lows of 122.86.
The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on existing home sales and official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia later Thursday.