Euro rises despite poor retail sales in Germany and France

The euro has made headway in this morning's (February 1st) forex trading session, despite disappointing reports concerning two of the single currency region's biggest economies.

French and German retail sectors suffered in December, with both nations reporting lower-than-anticipated demand.

Germany's retailer trade body HSE said it anticipates a further modest slide in trading in 2013 off the back of a 4.7 per cent retreat in year on year sales in December. This plunge was the largest since May 2009 and means that for the whole of 2012, sales for the country were lower by 0.6 per cent.

In France, the slide was less pronounced, with consumer spending sipping by 0.1 per cent, however the nation reported that it did witness a 4.6 per cent hike in French car sales compared to November.

At 09:00 GMT, the euro rose in trading by 0.2 per cent versus the dollar to $1.361, while it advanced by 0.3 per cent against the pound to £0.859.

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