Sterling, euro jump as BoE hikes rate, ECB cuts stimulus

Sterling and the euro jumped on Thursday after the Bank of England became the first major central bank to raise interest rates since the beginning of the pandemic, while the European Central Bank said it would continue to cut its bond purchases.

Sterling rose 0.7% to a two-week high of $1.3368 after the BoE raised its main interest rate to 0.25% from an historic low of 0.1%.

The euro rose 0.35% to $1.13350 after the ECB said it will cut bond buys under its 1.85 trillion euro Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme and will end the scheme as expected in March. It will,