The pound fell against the US Dollar on Friday after the release of ambiguous economic data in the UK, while investors continue to focus on the discussion of the UK's membership conditions in the European Union.
During European morning trade, GBP/USD reached 1.4297, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4304, shedding 0.23%.
The pair was likely to receive support at 1.4233, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.4517, Tuesday's high.
Earlier, the UK Office for National Statistics reported that in January, retail sales rose 2.3% after falling 1.4% the previous month, but initially predicted a decline by only 0.1%. Analysts had expected retail sales to increase by 0.8% last month.
In annual terms, retail sales increased by 5.2%, while there was expected a growth by 3.6%.
Retail sales excluding automobiles rose 2.3% for the month, compared with a fall of 1.3% in December, the figure being revised up from 0.9%. Analysts had expected last month retail sales to increase by 0.7%.
A separate report showed that net public sector borrowing in January fell to 11.81 billion pounds, lower than the expected decline by 13.95 billion pounds. In December, the government net borrowing rose to 7.49 billion pounds, the rate being revised from the preliminary assessment at 6.87 billion pounds.
Sentiment on pound remained fragile because the debate on membership of the United Kingdom in the European Union.
The meeting of Prime Minister David Cameron with the President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ended early on Friday without making any arrangements.
Meanwhile, markets remain cautious, as oil resumed its downtrend on Friday, the day after the statement of the Energy Information Administration said that last week US crude oil inventories rose 2.1 million barrels, reaching a record 504.1 million barrels.
Pound is steady against the euro: EUR/GBP pair is traded at 0.7750.