Pound rises above $2 mark for the second time

Pound rises above $2 mark for the second time
The pound continued to strengthen against a faltering dollar following the release of minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in June on Wednesday, rising above the $2 mark for the first time in two months.

According to the minutes released, four of the nine members of the committee voted for an early rise in the interest rate by a quarter point. This has boosted speculation that the interest rate will be released in the next month.

The pound has been rising steadily for the past few days, supported by the carry trade, where investors buy low value currencies such as yen in order to gain profit through investments. In the past 12 months, the pound has seen a 8 percent rise against the dollar.

Steve Pearson of HBOS said that the pound has benefited the most with the current speculation regarding the possible rise of interest rates. He added that there was an 84 percent probability that the MPC will increase the interest rates next month.