Interest rate rise suggestion for private wealth sees sterling rally

Investors with a portion of their private wealth tied up in sterling have seen the currency climb in value following the release of minutes from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) latest meeting.

The pound had reached a six-week high of $1.4943 against the dollar yesterday (June 23rd) after it emerged MPC member Andrew Sentance voted against maintaining the base rate at its current record low of 0.5 per cent.

As a result, the decision to keep the figure at its present value was not unanimous, prompting speculation interest rates may rise in the UK sooner than had previously been expected.

However, all eight members were in favour of keeping quantitative easing at the present level of £200 billion.

The euro dipped 0.7 per cent to 82.17p against the pound - a low not seen for around two weeks - and the British currency was also given a boost by the news ratings agency Moody’s believes the emergency Budget delivered on Tuesday will help protect the UK’s triple-A credit rating.ADNFCR-2318-ID-19855904-ADNFCR