Investing.com - The pound climbed to a one-week high against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as the release of better-than-expected U.K. retail sales data fuelled optimism over the strength of the British economy.
GBP/USD hit 1.5508 during European morning trade, the pair's highest since October 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5489, up 0.48%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5338, the low of September 22 and resistance at 1.5569, the high of September 21.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that retail sales surged by 1.9% last month, blowing past forecasts for a gain of 0.3%. Retail sales in August fell by 0.4%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported gain of 0.2%.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased by 6.5% in September, above expectations for a 4.8% gain, after rising at a rate of 3.5% in August.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, jumped 1.7% last month, easily surpassing forecasts for a 0.3% increase and following a drop of 0.7% in August.
The data came a day after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned of the potential pitfalls of being a member of the European Union, as the country prepares to vote on membership of the single market.
Carney did also praise the benefits of EU membership, which he said had increased dynamism and openness in the U.K.'s economy for "the majority" of the four decades it has been part of the EU.
The comments came amid mounting concerns that the referendum promised by David Cameron by the end of 2017 may actually lead to the U.K.'s leaving the EU.
Sterling was also higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP declining 0.70% to 0.7301.