Pound Extends World-Beating Gain on U.K. Growth Prospects

The pound, the best-performing major currency in the past year, strengthened after the Bank of England said further gains are possible as Britain’s economy expands amid falling unemployment.

Sterling climbed against all of its 16 major peers as the government presented higher growth forecasts during today’s budget address. The pound has gained 10 percent in the past 12 months, the best performer among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, on signs accelerating growth will prompt the Bank of England to raise interest rates. U.K. gilts pared declines after the debt office announced the lowest bond sales since 2007.