The pound slowed its rate of decline against the euro yesterday, as stocks continued to rally

In a choppy day’s trading, the currency pair eventually closed down at 1.1214, with strong equities helping to stem the pound’s decline.

• Yesterday, the pound initially pared its recent fall against the euro after confidence in the global economy saw European equities open strongly.
  
• However, demand for the pound soon ebbed away, as data showed that the unemployment claimant count rose by 24,400 in the UK in August, which despite being a declining figure on last month, brought the claimant rate to 5.0% of the workforce.
  
• Though the data was broadly in line with expectations, the figures were not as bad as some had feared, providing some respite for the pound.
  
• In the afternoon, as US markets came online, equities continued to rally, with the FTSE 100 reaching a 12-month high, which also prevented the pound from sliding too far.
  
• UK retail sales data is released today at 09:30BST, with forecasts predicting a slight fall, which could put added selling pressure on the pound.