The pound has climbed above $1.30 for the first time since September

LONDON — The pound has jumped above $1.30 for the first time since September 2016 on Thursday morning after better than expected retail sales figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested that British consumers are still spending.

Retail sales rose by 2.3% compared to the month of March, while on a year-to-year basis, sales were up by 4% against April 2016.

Those numbers compared to forecasts from economists of 1% monthly growth, and 2% y-o-y growth prior to the release.

This boosted sterling, with the currency jumping sharply against the dollar to trade at 1.3043 on the dollar around 10 minutes after the release, a gain of 0.5% from the open.

Here is the chart:

Markets Insider