2018.07.1905:51:00UTC+00Pound Falls As U.K. Retail Sales Fall Unexpectedly

The pound dropped against its major counterparts in early European deals on Thursday, as a data showed that U.K. retail sales unexpectedly declined in June.

Preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales dropped 0.5 percent from the previous month, while economists' were looking for a 0.2 percent increase. In May, sales rose 1.4 percent.

On a year-on-year basis, retail sales grew 3 percent in June after 4.5 percent rise in May. Economists had forecast 3.5 percent growth.

Excluding fuel, retail sales fell 0.6 percent monthly in June following 1.4 percent gain in May. Economists had predicted 0.2 percent gain.

European shares were mixed as investors digested mixed earnings updates and awaited new developments on global trade disputes.

The currency held steady against its major counterparts in Asian deals.

The pound weakened to a 10-1/2-month low of 1.2983 against the greenback, after rising to 1.3083 at 8:00 pm ET. The pound is seen finding support around the 1.28 mark.

The pound dropped to a 10-day low of 146.68 against the yen, following an advance to 147.59 at 5:15 pm ET. The pound is likely to target support around the 145.00 area.

Data from the the Ministry of Finance showed that Japan logged a merchandise trade surplus of 721.408 billion yen in June.

That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 531.2 billion yen following the 578.3 billion yen deficit in May.

The U.K. currency declined to 4-1/2-month lows of 1.3006 versus the franc and 0.8940 against the euro, from its early highs of 1.3067 and 0.8903, respectively. On the downside, 1.25 and 0.91 are likely seen as the next support levels for the pound against the franc and the euro, respectively.

In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended July 14 and leading index for June are scheduled for release.