Sterling traded with a firm footing on Monday as robust consumer credit and record mortgage lending data bolstered expectations for higher British interest rates.
Data on Monday showed British mortgage lending rose a record 14.5 percent year-on-year in February, suggesting Britons' appetite for debt had not been diminished by the last two Bank of England interest rate hikes.
"Clearly the Bank of England needs to get more aggressive if it is to stem consumer borrowing," said David Mann, foreign exchange strategist at Standard Chartered in London.
In late European trade, sterling was a quarter-percent higher against the dollar at $1.8192 and steady against the euro at 66.76 pence.
Britain's central bank raised interest rates by a quarter point in both November and February, fearing a build-up of debt could make consumers more vulnerable to shocks, raising the risk of a crash landing in the economy.
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