Pound rises, unemployment falls

London. — The British pound rose for the first time in six days yesterday versus the dollar after UK unemployment fell to the lowest since April 2009, fuelling speculation the central bank will need to raise interest rates sooner than it plans.
Sterling strengthened against all of its 16 major peers, even after minutes of the Bank of England’s December policy meeting showed policy makers said a further appreciation could hamper the economic recovery.

Britain’s government bonds fell, pushing the 10-year yield up from the lowest in two weeks.
“A large drop in the UK unemployment data is revitalising the pound,” Neil Jones, head of European hedge-fund sales in London, wrote in an e-mailed note.” — Bloomberg.