Retail sales & mortgage approvals down

Sterling has been held back today by poor retail sales and mortgage figures in the UK, which showed:

– Only 40,000 new mortgages were approved in November
– Retail sales fell 0.8% in December, and were flat for the year

Analysts were hoping for a slight rise in retail sales, given the Christmas period, and for around 20% more mortgage approvals – both of which would have been indicators of better recovery in the UK economy.

With the sterling-euro rate falling away, aiming for rates of 1.20 may now not be realistic for some time to come.