Pound hits a 4-month high and the dollar declines

The pound rose to a four-month high on Thursday after comments from Bank of England policymakers encouraged markets to reduce expectations of an interest rate cut in August, while the dollar fell ahead of the US inflation report later in the day.

The British pound rose 0.12% to $1.2864, its highest level since early March, after policymakers at the Bank of England said yesterday, Wednesday, that price pressures continue.

The dollar fell, as the Australian dollar rose 0.16% to $0.6758, after earlier recording the highest level since January at $0.6763.

The euro rose slightly to $1.0836, while the dollar settled at 104.91 against a basket of six major currencies.

US inflation data is scheduled to be released later today, as expectations indicate that the core inflation rate in the United States will rise by 0.2% on a monthly basis in June, bringing the annual rate to 3.4%.