GBP/USD near 1.69 as U.K. Manufacturing Beats Forecasts

The pound climbed to the highest level in four years against the dollar as a gauge of U.K. manufacturing output rose more in April than analysts predicted, bolstering demand for Britain’s currency.

Sterling gained for a sixth day versus the greenback as a separate report showed U.K. annual house-price growth accelerated last month to the most since before the financial crisis. Bank of England policy maker Spencer Dale said to lawmakers yesterday that while he sees little evidence of the U.K. housing market overheating, officials “know we should be nervous about what’s going on.” U.K. government bonds rose for a second day.

“It’s another strong data point,” said John Hardy, the head of foreign-exchange strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen, referring to the manufacturing report. “We saw a breakout yesterday where sterling closed above those highest levels, finally getting clear of the $1.6820 area, so it’s open fields from here.”

Bloomberg

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