On Thursday the pound rose to a one-week peak after the release of better-than expected U.K. retail sales data.
Earlier Thursday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said in a report that retail sales
surged by 1.9% in September, beating forecasts for a gain of 0.3%.
Retail sales in August dipped by 0.4%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported gain of 0.2%.
Year-on-year, retail sales rose by 6.5% in September, above expectations for a 4.8% gain, after climbing 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.
GBP/USD hit 1.5508 during European morning trade, the pair's highest since October 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5472, up 0.36%.
Sterling was also higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP declining 0.54% to 0.7313.
