Pound Strengthens Against Euro, Dollar on Greek Debt Report

The pound strengthened against the euro and rose from near a three-month low versus the dollar, as the newspaper Ta Nea reported Greek officials and bankers have decided on a debt-restructuring plan to begin after 2013.

The pound appreciated after the Athens-based daily said Greece will ask for an extension on all outstanding debt and a cut in interest paid. Fitch Ratings said it downgraded Portugal’s long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to A+ from AA-. Bank of England Markets Director Paul Fisher said in a newspaper interview that U.K. interest rates may rise to “a normalized position” of about 5 percent.