EUR/GBP remains above 0.8500 due to lower-than-expected UK Retail Sales

• EUR/GBP gains ground as Office for National Statistics released lower-than-expected UK Retail Sales data on Friday.
• UK Retail Sales (MoM) declined by 2.3% in April, marking the largest decrease in four months.
• The Euro continues to advance since the improved Eurozone Manufacturing PMI released on Thursday.

EUR/GBP extends its gains, trading around 0.8520 during the early European session on Friday. The decline in the Pound Sterling (GBP) supports the EUR/GBP cross, which could be attributed to lower-than-expected Retail Sales data from the United Kingdom (UK).

UK Retail Sales (MoM) declined by 2.3% in April, following a downwardly revised 0.2% fall in March and a worse-than-expected decline of 0.4%. This marks the largest decrease in retail sales in four months. Annually, Retail Sales decreased by 2.7%, swinging from the previous increase of 0.4%.

Core Retail Sales, which exclude auto motor fuel sales, fell by 2.0% MoM, compared to a 0.6% decline in March. On an annual basis, Core Retail Sales decreased by 3.0%, compared to no change in the previous month.

Moreover, the GfK Consumer Confidence came in at the reading of -17 in May, as compared to the previous reading of -19 in April, posting the highest reading since December 2021 and coming in better than forecasts of -18. The data shows that the cost of living crisis and high borrowing costs continued to weigh on consumer sentiment.

On Friday, Reuters reported Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, saying “All in all, consumers are clearly sensing that conditions are improving. This good result anticipates further growth in confidence in the months to come.”

On Thursday, the Eurozone Preliminary Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) improved to 47.4 in May from April's 45.7, surpassing the expected reading of 46.2 and reaching a 15-month high. This improvement in the manufacturing sector's downturn supported the Euro.

According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, ECB President Christine Lagarde expressed confidence that Eurozone inflation is under control and suggested that an interest rate cut is likely next month. LSEG data indicates that financial markets have priced in a 25 basis-point cut in June.