Pound continued to climb against the aussie yesterday as confidence in the UK economy improved

A broadly stronger pound hit a two-week high against the aussie, briefly rising over 1.8000, as confidence in the UK economy gained momentum.

• Sterling jumped following the minutes from the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting, which dampened expectations of an extension to quantitative easing.
  
• The minutes appeared to move the balance of market expectations to the possibility of a pause of the government’s asset purchase scheme in November, reversing recent speculation.
  
• In addition, the aussie dollar found its strength undermined as commodity prices, most notably oil, turned lower, discouraging investors from the higher-yielding currency.
  
• In trading this morning the pound has continued to advance, reaching back over 1.80, as investors cut long positions in the “riskier” currency after Chinese data dashed expectations of some who were betting on a positive surprise.
  
• The most significant figure, the Chinese 3rd quarter GDP, revealed a growth rate of 8.9%, bang in line with expectations, however there had been hopes of over 9.0%.