The pound hit a two-week high on the volatile dollar on Friday, gaining ground after record mortgage lending data added to market views the Bank of England may soon raise interest rates.
The dollar came under pressure against major currencies after Federal Reserve Board Governor Ben Bernanke on Thursday raised doubts over how quickly US interest rates would rise, and sterling was a beneficiary, climbing one percent at one point in the session.
"The dollar is under pressure after comments last night by Bernanke. Sterling had reasonably good figures this morning," a UK bank dealer said.
By 1620 GMT the pound had pared its gains to $1.7888, up 0.7 percent on the day.
The pound outperformed the euro to stand 0.2 percent firmer on the day at 0.6713 pence per euro.
Data showed British mortgage lending rose at a record pace in April, adding to concerns the country's booming housing market may be overheating and fuelling expectations the central bank may raise rates again soon.
The Bank of England raised rates by a quarter point for the third time in seven months earlier in May, to 4.25 percent.
Minutes from that meeting released this week showed policymakers had considered making a half point hike instead, giving sterling added momentum as the market took the minutes as more hawkish than expected.
Comments
Comments are closed.