Data from the Office for National Analysis and Statistics in the United Kingdom ONS just before showed that retail sales rose by 0.8% in October, after declining by about 0.2% in September, exceeding expectations that were indicating a growth of 0.5%.

Non-food stores supported the main retail sector such as used stores, toys, sports equipment stores and clothing stores by 7.2% in October, while sales of food stores decreased by 0.3%.

The British pound is trading against the US dollar at 1.3501 levels, up more than 20 points from its lowest level in the Asian session.