Exchange rates still rising on the back of Bank minutes

Sterling had a great day yesterday with exchange rates going up against virtually all other currencies, at one point trading 1.8% up against the US Dollar and 1.1% up against the Euro.

The main driver behind this strength was the release of the Bank of England minutes from their meeting earlier this month which told us that there was a unanimous decision agreeing to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5% and that currently we did not need to extend the quantitative easing measures currently standing at £175bn.

I think we shall continue to see Sterling in a buoyant mood during today's trading as the impact of the minutes continue to filter through the market.

For those of you interested in currencies across the pond keep an eye out for US jobless claim numbers at 1.30pm and 3.30pm and Canadian retail sales data out at a similar time.