The pound slipped against its major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday following the release of the Bank of England's May meeting minutes and a weaker-than-expected domestic retail sales data for April.
Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to halt GBP 325 billion bond purchase programme in May through a split vote, the minutes of the meeting showed.
Governor Mervyn King and seven other members voted to maintain quantitative easing unchanged, while David Miles sought GBP 25 billion increase to a total of GBP 350 billion.
All nine members voted to hold the interest rate at a record low 0.50 percent.
Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that U.K. retail sales fell more than expected in April.
Including automotive fuel, retail sales volume dropped 2.3 percent from a month ago, faster than the 0.8 percent decrease forecast by economists. Annually, sales fell 1.1 percent, against expectations for a 1 percent growth.
Retail sales, excluding automotive fuel dropped 1 percent month-on-month. Expectations were for 0.7 percent fall.
The pound slid to more than a 3-month low of 124.52 against the yen and more than a 2-month low of 1.5682 against the U.S. dollar with 122.5 and 1.565, respectively seen as the next downside target levels. The pound-greenback pair and the pound-yen pairs were worth 1.5762 and 126.05, respectively at yesterday's close.
The Bank of Japan today left the monetary policy unchanged as expected after boosting the asset purchases at the end of April.
The Policy Board unanimously decided to retain the key uncollateralized overnight call rate steady at 0-0.1 percent. The size of the asset purchase and credit facility was also left unchanged at JPY 40 trillion and JPY 30 trillion respectively.
The U.K. currency that climbed to a 5-day high of 1.4958 against the franc in early Asian deals moved sideways in the latter part of the session and fell amid BoE minutes. The pair is now trading at 1.4927, compared to Tuesday's close of 1.4929. The next downside target level for the pound is seen at 1.48.
Against the euro, the pound fell to as low as 0.8059 from an an early Asian session's 5-day high of 0.8034. On the downside, 0.815 is seen as the next target level for the pound. The pair finished yesterday's deals at 0.8051.
The Eurozone current account registered a seasonally adjusted surplus of EUR 9.1 billion in March compared to a deficit of EUR 1.2 billion in February, the European Central Bank said today.
Looking ahead, Canada's retail sales for March and leading indicators for April, U.S. house price index for March and new home sales for April are due in the New York morning session.
Investors also focus on the European Union summit later in the day, where leaders are expected to discuss measures to promote growth and ways to keep Greece in the euro zone.
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Forex News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.