The pound climbed above $1.30 for the first time since September after a report showed U.K. retail sales gained more than economists expected in April.
Sterling climbed against all of its 16 major peers after the report showed the volume of goods sold in stores and online rose 2.3 percent, more than twice the median increase forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. The data pushed the currency through the psychologically important level that has acted as resistance in the rally since Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election last month.
The milestone marks the latest stage of recovery for the pound, which tumbled following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. At its lowest point since the vote the currency was 20 percent weaker from June 23, a decline it has now trimmed to about 12 percent.
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Craig Erlam
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