Pound touches 3-week high

The pound hit a three-week high against the dollar on Monday
(November 18th) before the Bank of England publishes minutes
of its November meeting this week.

GBP/USD advanced to 1.6143 in the Asian session, the
strongest for the
exchange rate side October 29th.

The pound has risen more than three per cent in the last three
months, with BoE governor Mark Carney indicating last
week the bank may raise interest rates sooner than expected.

He said the UK was experiencing “one of the strongest recoveries
in the advanced world”.

The bank will publish the minutes of its November policy meeting
on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the dollar eased 0.2 per cent against the yen on
Monday, but remained close to a two-month high versus the Japanese
currency. USD/JPY slid to 99.98, just below Friday’s
peak of 100.42. 

Elsewhere, the Australian and New Zealand dollars climbed after
a series of economic reforms were unveiled by China’s leaders,
bolstering the outlook for the two nations’ exports.

AUD/USD jumped 0.4 per cent to 0.9403, while NZD/USD was up 0.3
per cent at 0.8361.