Pound Up, Ignoring Weaker Than Expected UK Retail Sales

The British pound rallied on Tuesday as the US dollar weakened and investors ignored an unexpected drop in monthly retail sales data in Britain.

The dollar fell after investors returned to riskier currencies while a successful phone call between the United States’ top trade officials and China sparked a positive atmosphere.

At 17:00 GMT, the sterling was up 0.45% against the greenback at $ 1.3121, while it was up 0.25% against the European currency, to 89.98 pence per euro.

The sterling’s rise came despite data showing a larger-than-expected decline in UK retail sales in August.