Sterling stronger on house price growth

Story link: Sterling stronger on house price growth

After several days of gains, the yen weakened on Thursday after equities markets rallied and new data showed industrial production in Japan down by 0.4 percent in May. The decline in production was disappointing after a prediction that it would rise by 0.9 percent, but the better performances by equities made investors less afraid to make more risky investments.

The yen was down significantly versus the Australian and New Zealand dollars, dropping 1.1 percent to ¥103.96 versus the Australian dollar and by 1.3 percent versus the New Zealand dollar, to ¥94.28. Declines were less against major currencies, with the yen dropping 0.2 percent to ¥123.10 versus the greenback, falling 0.3 percent to ¥165.70 in relation to the euro, and declining 0.5 percent to ¥246.33 against sterling.

The pound was also stronger by 0.1 percent versus both the euro and the US dollar, trading at £0.6720 and $2.0020 respectively. The gains came after Nationwide building society released new data showing that house price growth had strengthened a bit in June. The US dollar, meanwhile, remained steady versus the euro, at $1.3450 ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s latest decision on interest rates.