Thursday, 19 March 2015 20:16
LONDON: Sterling fell to the day’s low against the dollar on Thursday after Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane said the chances of an interest rate rise or cut were evenly balanced.
Haldane said policy needed to stand ready to move in either direction in order for the bank to meet its 2 percent inflation target.
Sterling fell to $ 1.4762 after Haldane’s comments, from $ 1.4836 beforehand, leaving it down 1.4 percent on the day. Against the euro, the pound pared gains to trade at 72.10 pence , still up 0.6 percent on the day.
British government bond futures extended gains by as much as 30 ticks to hit a contract high, while yields on 10-year gilts sank to 1.523 percent, their lowest since Feb. 6.
Britain’s FTSE 100 edged higher, turning positive to trade 0.1 percent higher at 1405 GMT.
Copyright Reuters, 2015
