Investing.com - The pound rose to session highs against the broadly weaker dollar on Thursday after data showed that retail sales in the U.K. rose at a faster than expected rate in September.
GBP/USD hit 1.6089 during European morning trade, the highest since October 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6077, advancing 0.81%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5938, the session low and resistance at 1.6123, the high of October 8.
The Office for National Statistics said U.K. retail sales rose 0.6% in September from a month earlier, compared to expectations for a 0.4% increase. The previous months figure was revised to a decline of 0.8% from a previously reported 1% drop.
Core retail sales were 0.7% higher on a month over month basis, beating expectations for an increase of 0.3%.
On a year-over-year basis, retail sales rose 2.2%, slightly better than forecasts for a 2.1% gain. Core retail sales were 2.8% higher in September from a year earlier.
Furniture sales provided the biggest boost for the increase in sales last month the ONS said, possibly related to the recovery in the U.K. housing market.
The dollar remained broadly weaker as the temporary nature of the deal to avert a U.S. sovereign debt default and reopen the government weighed on investor sentiment.
The deal will fund the government until January 15 and raise the government borrowing limit until February 7, but the possibility of another debt crisis down the road weighed on sentiment, as the temporary solution does not resolve the underlying budgetary issues dividing Republicans and Democrats.
Elsewhere, sterling was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.07% to 0.8476.
The U.S. was to publish a report on initial jobless claims and the Philly Fed manufacturing index later Thursday.
GBP/USD hit 1.6089 during European morning trade, the highest since October 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6077, advancing 0.81%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5938, the session low and resistance at 1.6123, the high of October 8.
The Office for National Statistics said U.K. retail sales rose 0.6% in September from a month earlier, compared to expectations for a 0.4% increase. The previous months figure was revised to a decline of 0.8% from a previously reported 1% drop.
Core retail sales were 0.7% higher on a month over month basis, beating expectations for an increase of 0.3%.
On a year-over-year basis, retail sales rose 2.2%, slightly better than forecasts for a 2.1% gain. Core retail sales were 2.8% higher in September from a year earlier.
Furniture sales provided the biggest boost for the increase in sales last month the ONS said, possibly related to the recovery in the U.K. housing market.
The dollar remained broadly weaker as the temporary nature of the deal to avert a U.S. sovereign debt default and reopen the government weighed on investor sentiment.
The deal will fund the government until January 15 and raise the government borrowing limit until February 7, but the possibility of another debt crisis down the road weighed on sentiment, as the temporary solution does not resolve the underlying budgetary issues dividing Republicans and Democrats.
Elsewhere, sterling was slightly higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.07% to 0.8476.
The U.S. was to publish a report on initial jobless claims and the Philly Fed manufacturing index later Thursday.