The retail sales figure for January unexpectedly fell by 0.3%, marking the second successive monthly contraction. Whilst the reading on its own shows only a marginal decline, it comes on the back of a drop of 1.9% previously and could raise some question marks over the levels of consumer spending in the economy.
The reading has done little for the pound, with the currency dropping to its lowest level of the day and falling close to the 1.24 handle against the US dollar.