The pound is back above $1.25

LONDON — The pound has climbed back above the $1.25 mark on Thursday after the UK's latest retail sales data beat expectations by a significant margin.

At 9.30 a.m. GMT (5.30 a.m. ET) the ONS revealed that on a month-to-month basis, sales grew by 1.4% in February, while on an annual basis, sales grew by 3.7%. Both numbers were significantly worse than had been expected by economists polled in the run up to the data.

Prior to the release, economists had forecast month-on-month sales growth of 0.4%, with the yearly figure expected at 2.6%.

This was enough to send the pound significantly higher. Prior to the release it had traded at around 1.2477 against the dollar, but climbed as high as $1.2527 in the minutes after the release. 

It then dropped to be virtually flat, before rallying once again. By 4.55 p.m. GMT (12.55 p.m. ET), it is back close to its daily high. Here is the chart:

Screen Shot 2017 03 23 at 16.54.51

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