The pound rebounded after dipping below 2 usd when early-morning market rumours for UK retail sales to surprise on the upside were confounded. On a month-on-month basis sales showed a 0.3 pct rise from February; market expectations had been for a 0.4 pct increase. The dip was short-lived though as the data did little to alter expectations the Bank of England will raise interest rates a quarter point to 5.50 pct in May, and possibly even higher in the months after. "In the April minutes, the Monetary Policy Committee warned that slower income growth and the impact of interest rate hikes were likely to slow consumption growth in the future," said Stuart Bennett, senior European economist at Calyon. "For now, however, the March data merely cements the view that the MPC will hike rates in May," he added. Meanwhile the euro was steady, off earlier highs, as markets waited to asses the level of concern expressed about the currency's strength at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers and central bankers. The buoyant euro -- it is within striking distance of its all-time high against the dollar -- has led to worries it may impact euro zone economic growth. But few concerns have been expressed so far, with the only notable comment coming from Euro group president Jean-Claude Juncker who said he is not worried about the currency's appreciation. "We've heard very little from politicians so far; in previous periods of euro strength there was a lot of noise coming from euro zone politicians, especially ahead of this kind of meeting, and we haven't had that so much this time," said Ian Stannard, currency strategist at BNP Paribas.