Pound Advances as Retail Sales, Factory Output Rise; Gilts Drop
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The pound advanced toward its strongest level against the euro in seven years as data showed U.K. retail sales and manufacturing output picked up, 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 Wednesday where they’ll discuss the crisis over Greece’s debt. The U.K. currency rose for the first time in three days against the dollar. Like-for-like retail sales rose 0.2 percent in January after falling 0.4 percent the previous month, according to the British Retail Consortium and KPMG. Manufacturing output unexpectedly rose in December. U.K. government bonds fell.