FXpert

Sterling fell on Thursday as the dollar's rally gathered momentum, with strong British retail sales data doing little to shake the currency out of a slumber following a six-month extension to Brexit.

Sterling struggled to make much headway on Wednesday after data showed British prices rose slightly slower than expected in March, easing the pressure on the Bank of England to tighten monetary policy.

The U.S. dollar gained on Thursday on strong retail sales data, while the euro was dented by weak manufacturing data in the region.

Most Latin American currencies firmed on Wednesday as the dollar weakened after upbeat economic data from China eased some fears of a slowdown in its economy.

Daily turnover in the Chinese currency in London rose by nearly half in the last three months of 2018 compared with the same period in 2017, topping 76 billion yuan (£8.72 billion), a report by the City of London Corporation showed on Wednesday.

Investment banks are now earning more from trading emerging-market currencies than from the major G10 markets, as wild swings in the likes of the Turkish lira contrast with relative calm in the dollar, euro and yen.

The greenback weakened against the euro on Wednesday as better-than-expected economic growth data in China bolstered risk appetite and a day ahead of the release of closely watched economic data for the euro zone.

Sterling slipped on Tuesday after a newspaper report that Brexit talks between Prime Minister Theresa May's government and the opposition Labour Party were stalling, but moves were broadly contained in a market lacking fresh triggers.

The euro fell against the dollar on Tuesday after reports that some European Central Bank policymakers think the bank’s economic projections are too optimistic.