The pound advanced toward its strongest level against the euro in seven years as data showed UK retail sales and manufacturing output picked up.
The news adding to speculation the Bank of England will raise interest rates this year.
Sterling was also supported versus the shared currency as Europe’s finance ministers prepared for a meeting today where they’ll discuss the crisis over Greece’s debt.
The UK currency rose for the first time in three days against the dollar.
Like-for-like retail sales rose 0.2 per cent in January after falling 0.4 per cent the previous month, according to the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.
The strength of the UK economy means interest rates could rise this year for the first time since 2007. The BOE will raise its 0.5 per cent benchmark rate in the final quarter of this year, economist forecasts compiled by Bloomberg suggest.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
