Sterling rose against the euro on Thursday as investors dumped the single currency on speculation Greece may have to restructure its debts, pushing it towards key technical support. Traders said a lack of major UK economic data meant sterling was being driven by movements in other major currencies. It rose against a broadly weak dollar.
This knocked the euro, pushing it down around 0.4 percent on the day to 88.45 pence in late London trade. The euro had risen to a five-and-a-half month high on Wednesday of 89.24 pence on expectations that UK interest rates would continue to lag those in the eurozone.
Sterling rose more than half a percent against the dollar on the day to a session high of $1.6385, before pulling back to $1.6340. It was supported by a slight improvement in UK consumer confidence released earlier in the day. The dollar remained weak, trading near its lowest levels in 16 months versus a currency basket.