Retail results lift currency exchange rate

Sterling's currency exchange rate has been lifted by the latest retail results.

Published by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the figures revealed that high street sales in July "exceeded expectations".

A total of 51 per cent of retailers said that sales were up during the month compared to the same time last year.

The pound rose on the back of these results and was further buoyed by the recent details from the Office for National Statistics, which found that the UK economy grew 1.3 per cent in the second quarter of the year.

This morning (July 28th) sterling was trading against the dollar at $1.55 at 09:00 BST.

Its performance against the euro also remained positive, buying �1.19.

Lai Wah Co, head of economic analysis at the CBI, commented on the retail results: "Retailers are optimistic that strong sales growth will continue next month, which is promising."

However, the analyst warned that public spending cuts and weak prospects for salaries could mean that overall consumer spending will be "fairly restrained" in the months ahead.

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Posted by Eleanor Ward