Pound Advances to Three-Week High as Retail Sales Beat Forecasts
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The pound rose to a three-week high against the dollar after a government report showed U.K. retail sales increased more in February than economists forecast.
Sterling appreciated versus all but three of its 16 major counterparts as the data damped speculation the Bank of England will add to monetary stimulus that tends to debase a currency. The pound climbed to the strongest in five weeks against the euro as a contraction in German manufacturing and an impasse over a bailout for Cyprus spurred demand for alternatives to the single currency. U.K. government bonds advanced.