Pound Gains to Strongest Level in Seven Years Versus Euro on ECB
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The pound advanced to the strongest level in almost seven years against the euro after the European Central Bank announced a plan to buy its region’s sovereign bonds, damping demand for the shared currency.
Sterling weakened for a third day versus the dollar even as data showed U.K. retail sales unexpectedly rose in December. The pound has fallen 1.6 percent this month among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes as investors pushed back bets on when the Bank of England will raise interest rates and before a May general election. The nation’s government bonds rose, with the 10-year yield falling to the lowest level since August 2012.