Bank of England see sterling and Ftse index increase

The pound rose sharply yesterday after new forecasts from the Bank of England appeared to bring forward the likely timing of an interest rate hike.

Traders looked beyond the BoE’s near-term prediction of negative Consumer Price Index inflation this spring and instead focused on the outlook further down the track, which has been nudged higher.

Sterling’s rise came in a session when the Ftse 100 index inched ahead, finishing 9.9 points up at 6828.1.