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British pounds strongest against euro since 2007

Xinhua, July 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The British pound Thursday climbed to 1.4350 against the euro for the first time since November 2007, as the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to maintain its loose monetary policy, while the Bank of England (BoE) has signaled it would raise its interest rates.

The ECB decided Thursday to maintain its benchmark interest rates at their historic low as well as keep its bond-buying program at 60 billion euro per month. ECB president Mario Draghi said the bank had increased emergency funding to Greek banks by 900 million euro for one week.

The pound was trading at 1.4297 against the euro here at 1600 GMT, compared to the exchange rate of twelve months ago when it was at around 1.27. The euro also dropped by 0.5 percent to 1.0891 against the U.S. dollar on the same day.

The BoE's governor Mark Carney said Tuesday the time for an interest rate rise was getting closer given the performance of the economy.

On Wednesday, Janet Yellen, chairwoman at the U.S. Federal Reserve System also stated that U.S. interest rates were likely to rise before the end of the year. Endit