The pound reached its highest level in three weeks and the euro stood at its strongest in a year as Wednesday comments form central bankers continued to reverberate through markets.
Sterling was up as much as 0.4 per cent at $1.2975 on the dollar, its highest level since June 8. The euro was likewise up as much as 0.4 per cent at $1.1419, the highest level since June 24, 2016.
Those gains follow currency markets whipsawing on Wednesday: The euro surged to a 52-week high against the dollar after investors characterised remarks by Mario Draghi as a signal he was preparing to taper the European Central Bank’s bond-buying scheme — only to drop almost a full cent after senior ECB figures made clear he had been misinterpreted.
Similarly, the British pound jumped 1.2 per cent to $1.2972 after Mark Carney, Bank of England governor, said he was prepared to raise interest rates if UK business activity increased — just a week after saying “now is not yet the time” for an increase.
