Pound Rises Versus Euro After BOE Maintains Policy; Gilts Rally

The pound strengthened for the first time in eight days versus the euro after the Bank of England left monetary policy unchanged and as a gauge of manufacturing rose more in July than economists forecast.

Ten-year gilts rose as the central bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Mark Carney refrained from expanding its bond-purchase program and kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low. The Bank of England releases its quarterly Inflation Report next week, which is scheduled to include deliberations on providing guidance on future borrowing costs. The purchasing managers’ index of factory output rose to the highest since March 2011.