Pound Soars Against Dollar

Sterling passes $2.02, raising hopes and filling coffers
By Sophie Goldstein,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 4, 2007 1:24 PM CDT
Pound Soars Against Dollar
A US Dollar exchange rate of over two dollars for a Pound is seen displayed on a currency exchange rates indicator at a Bureau de Change in London, Wednesday, April 18, 2007. The U.S. dollar neared an all-time low against the euro and fell further against the British pound in European trading Wednesday...   (Associated Press)

The British pound climbed against the dollar today to a level not seen since June 1981, nudging past $2.02 before closing at $2.0136. The third consecutive trading session with a 26-year high came as the UK braced for a interest rate hike and the US braced for an extended stay by the $2 pound.

Analysts had trouble accounting for the skid, which one expert called an "absolute beating," the Telegraph reports. Now that the psychological barrier is breached, one economist told Reuters, $2.07 isn't out of the question. Meanwhile, the euro flirted with a record high against the battered American currency as the European Central Bank prepared for tomorrow's meeting on interest rates. (More currency stories.)

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