Pound drops below $1.23 after U.K retail sales unexpectedly fall

The pound was pushed below $1.23 Friday after a downbeat update on British retail sales in December. Sterling fell to an intraday low of $1.2283, according to FactSet, after data showed retail sales declined 1.9% in December on a month-over-month basis, the slowest pace of growth since 2012. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a rise of 0.2% in sales. The pound had traded hands around $1.2327 just before the data arrived from the Office for National Statistics. It's the "sudden slowdown from November that is discouraging and this has dented sentiment around the pound," said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, in a note. A consideration of quarterly figures offers "a more even view of the market. But the worry is that consumer sentiment is fickle and based largely on ballooning unsecured debt." U.K. retail sales rose 5.6% in the fourth quarter.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.