LONDON, Feb 19 - Sterling rose half a cent against the dollar and also strengthened against the euro after data showing a stronger than expected rise in UK retail sales. Retail sales rose by 0.6 percent on the month and by 6.4 percent on the year in January, above forecast and the biggest year-on-year rise since December 2002. "They were good strong numbers, making the market look back at the yield advantage of sterling," said Matthew Van Dyckhoff, foreign exchange sales manager at Brown Brothers Harriman. The pound rose half a cent in the few minutes following the data to $1.8928 by 0943 GMT. The pound hit an 11-year high of $1.9140 on Wednesday, before succumbing to a three-cent bout of profit-taking. The pound strengthened towards one-year highs against the euro near 67.10 pence . Separately, underlying mortgage lending showed its biggest increase in January since November 2001 at 5.9 billion pounds, the British Bankers' Association said, and the public sector net cash requirement showed a larger than expected surplus in January.||www.reutres.com