UK pound is higher against the US dollar today, gaining as other currencies, in general, are preferred to the greenback. However, the UK pound is down against the euro, as well as down against commodity currencies today.

Against the US dollar, the UK pound is heading higher, supported by a general tendency toward risk appetite. Stocks are higher, and that provides support for the sterling, and the US dollar is generally out of favor after the Federal Reserve announcement that interest rates are likely to remain near zero until 2014.

However, the UK pound isn’t doing as well against other currencies. The pound is down against the euro today, heading lower as the latest economic data disappoints. The CBI reported that January retail sales are weaker than expected, and that is providing evidence that the UK economy continues to struggle — and other currencies are being preferred.

In the meantime, euro is receiving support from better than expected Ifo data out of Germany, and a strong performance by Asian equities. The result is that EUR/GBP is gaining, since the euro is in better demand than the pound right now.

At 15:57 GMT EUR/GBP is higher at 0.8379, up from the open at 0.8371. GBP/USD is higher at 1.5699, up from the open at 1.5658. GBP/CAD is down to 1.5698 from the open at 1.5726.

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