The pound posted its biggest weekly advance in almost two years against the euro as speculation the European Central Bank will start government-bond purchases stoked demand for the U.K. currency as a haven.
Sterling climbed to the strongest level since February 2008 versus the 19-member common currency after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly removed its cap on the franc against the euro. ECB policy makers are set to meet in Frankfurt on Jan. 22. U.K. government bonds rose for a third week, pushing the 30-year gilt yield to a record low, after the slowest inflation in almost 15 years caused traders to abandon bets that the Bank of England will raise interest rates.
“What brought euro-sterling down was the thought that the Swiss National Bank must have known something,” said Nick Beecroft, a strategist at Saxo Bank A/S in London. “It will be an impressive shock-and-awe announcement.”
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Latest posts by marketpulsefxstaff (see all)
- Oil Remains Near Multi-Month Lows - 6 August 2015
- U.S. Dollar Higher on Recent Data - 6 August 2015
- Greece’s PM Tsipras: Loan Deal with Lenders Close - 6 August 2015