Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Pound Mixed Versus Major Counterparts, Tuesday, June 05, 2007 2:23:29 PM

The sterling was choppy against its major counterparts Tuesday in New York. The pound advanced versus the dollar, hitting its highest mark since early May during the morning. Meanwhile, the British currency slipped against the euro and yen. Trading took place following the release of stronger-than-expected UK PMI data in May, as well as news that May retail sales grew at their lowest rate in six months. Investors also looked toward to the release of the British consumer confidence survey.

The pound fell slightly against the euro Tuesday in New York. The sterling fell steadily through much of the morning before steadying itself around 8:30 am ET. At 1:50 pm, the pound fetched a mark of 0.6782, off an intraday low of 0.6788 at 8:20 am. Traders considered data released Tuesday showing that Euro zone retail sales grew at a weaker-than-expected rate in April.

Versus the greenback, the sterling was up slightly Tuesday in New York. The pound climbed through much of the morning, reaching an intraday high of 1.9966 at 8:20 am ET. This was the British currency`s highest mark since early May against its American counterpart. The sterling slipped soon after following comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who once again pointed to higher inflation as a significant risk. The decline did not last though, and the pound leveled off in the early afternoon to trade at a mark of 1.9937 at 2 pm. Greenback traders also considered data showing that the American non-manufacturing ISM was higher-than-expected in May.

The sterling slid versus the yen Tuesday in New York. The British currency slid through much of the morning, reaching an intraday low of 241.53 at 9:10 am ET. The pound recouped some of those losses in the late-morning before dropping once again in the early afternoon. At 2 pm, the sterling fetched a mark of 241.90 versus its Japanese counterpart. Traders mulled data showing that Japanese firms` capital spending reached a record high following a higher-than-expected first quarter.

The latest retail sales monitor from Britain showed that retail sales grew at a rate of 1.8% during May, compared to 3.6% during the previous month. The sluggish growth was blamed on recent rate increases as well as bad weather.

The UK purchasing managers index remained unchanged at 57.2 during May. This was slightly better than expected, as analysts were anticipating a decline to 57.0
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