Pound higher as Janet Yellen testimony softens dollar
Currencies Direct February 12th 2014 - < 1 minute read
Sterling was trading at a two-week high against the dollar on
Wednesday (February 12th) as investors bet the Federal Reserve
would go slowly when tapering stimulus.
New Federal Reserve chair
Janet Yellen told Congress that monetary policy would stay on
track, though the labour market would need to improve further.
She reiterated the view that bond purchases would be scaled back
in “measured steps”.
GBP/USD traded at 1.6453, the highest for the
pound exchange rate since late January.
The dollar was also lower against the yen, with USD/JPY at
102.54, while the greenback firmed against the euro. EUR/USD was
steady at 1.3636, not far off a two-week high.
Sterling was higher against the single currency, as one euro
bought just short of 83 pence.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was at a one-month high against
its US counterpart on Wednesday on positive Chinese trade data.
The Aussie bought just over 90 cents, up a quarter of one per
cent, while it was worth nearly £1.82, close to a two-month high
versus sterling.
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Currencies Direct