The kiwi continues to climb vs sterling following strong retail sales data in NZ

The pound edged lower against the kiwi dollar yesterday as investors continued to shift their funds into high-yielding currencies, with the pair closing at 2.1542.

• Commodity and equity markets rallied higher yesterday, including a rise of nearly a percent in the Nikkei 225 and the Shanghai Composite, which maintained strong demand for the kiwi.
  
• Selling pressure on the pound also remained high following a report that cast doubts over the pace of the UK economic recovery, stating that interest rate rises would lag those of other major economies.
  
• In trading this morning, the pound has shed a further two cents against the kiwi following a surprise jump in New Zealand retail sales for August.
  
• Sales rose 1.1% from the previous month, beating expectations of a rise of 0.6% and fuelling talk that the central bank might soon drop its economic easing measures.