Investing.com - The pound climbed to a one-week high against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, supported by upbeat U.K. retail sales data and as demand for the greenback remained under pressure after Wednesday's disappointing U.S. economic reports.
GBP/USD hit 1.4990 during European morning trade, the pair's highest since March 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4979, advancing 0.67%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.4825, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.5099, the high of March 11.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said retail sales increased 0.7% last month, above forecasts for a gain of 0.4%. Retail sales in January rose by 0.1%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 0.3%.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased at a rate of 5.7% in February, beating expectations for a 4.7% gain, after rising at a rate of 5.9% in January.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose 0.7% last month, compared to forecasts for a 0.4% rise, after falling 0.3% in January.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure after the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, declined 1.4% last month, compared to expectations for a gain of 0.4%.
Core durable goods orders, excluding volatile transportation items, inched down 0.4% in February, disappointing forecasts for a 0.3% gain.
The greenback has been weakening since the Federal Reserve indicated last week that it may raise interest rates more gradually than markets had expected.
Sterling was steady against the euro, with EUR/GBP at 0.7370.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly report on jobless claims.