Pound hits two-week high versus euro

20 Oct, 2005

Sterling hit a two-week high against the euro and gained against the dollar on Wednesday after minutes of the Bank of England's latest monetary policy meeting showed that an interest rate cut was not discussed.
Sterling bounced back from early losses against the dollar as many in the market had thought at least a few members of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee would have presented a case to cut borrowing costs given recent signs of weak economic growth.
All nine members voted to keep borrowing costs at 4.5 percent in October, as analysts had predicted.
"Not only was it a 9-0 vote in favour of steady rates, but also there was no consideration of a rate cut and that saw sterling recover all of its losses," said Monica Fan, currency strategist at Royal Bank of Canada.
By 1350 GMT, sterling was up 0.4 percent against the dollar at $1.7580, gaining 1-1/2 cents from session lows around $1.7430.
The pound changed hands at 68.02 pence per euro, up 0.3 percent on the day, after hitting a two-week high at 67.96 pence.
Investors will look at retail sales data for September on Thursday for further clues on the health of the British economy.

Read Comments