The pound was little changed versus the dollar after an industry report showed a gauge of U.K. house prices rose this month by the most since February.
Sterling was also little changed against the euro before a report this week economists said will show the U.K. economy expanded at a faster pace in the third quarter. Home values climbed 2.8 percent in October after declining 1.5 percent last month, property-website operator Rightmove Plc (RMV) said. The Debt Management Office plans to sell government bonds maturing in 2068 via banks this week.
The pound traded at $1.6169 as of 7:42 a.m. London time after rising to $1.6225 on Oct. 18, the highest since Oct. 3. Sterling was at 84.62 pence per euro.
Bank of England policy maker Ben Broadbent said yesterday in a television interview on Sky News central-bank officials will only consider raising interest rates once the economic recovery is secure.
“We want to ensure that this recovery, which is only just beginning in a way, continues and is not choked off by a premature rise in interest rates,” Broadbent was quoted as saying.
Gross domestic product in the U.K. advanced 0.8 percent in third quarter, according to the median of 40 estimates in Bloomberg News survey of analysts before the Office for National Statistics releases the data on Oct. 25. The economy grew 0.7 percent in the second quarter, a Sept. 26 report showed.
The pound appreciated 5.3 percent in the past six months, the best performer among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The euro strengthened 3.9 percent, while the dollar weakened 1.5 percent.
U.K. gilts lost 3 percent this year through Oct. 18, according to Bloomberg World Bond Indexes. Treasuries dropped 2.1 percent and German bonds declined 1.8 percent.
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