Pound Climbs with Consumer Sentiment

The Great Britain pound jumped against the Japanese yen as the index of UK consumers’ confidence reached the highest level in five months. The currency dropped versus the US dollar.

The Nationwide consumer confidence index rose to the five-month high of 47 in January after it reached the record low of 38 in December. The improving sentiment eased concerns that the UK would suffer from a double-dip recession. The problems in Europe also helped the sterling, increasing its appeal as a refuge. Britain is still has its problems to solve and ”the path of recovery is likely to be slow and uncertain” as was noted by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in yesterday’s speech.

GBP/JPY climbed from 123.04 to 123.48 as of 12:14 GMT today and reached earlier 123.58 — the highest rate since November 14. Meanwhile, GBP/USD went down from 1.5690 to 1.5684.