( AFP ) - The pound stayed under pressure but was off lows, following this morning's announcement by the Bank of England of an exceptional fine-tuning open market operation designed to calm short-term money markets.
The auction, announced around 10 am and carried out just an hour later, was of 5 billion pounds via a three-day repo. It was oversubscribed by five times, indicating the demand for such liquidity in the current climate.
The BoE said the move was "in response to conditions in the short-term money markets this morning" and it is closely monitoring market conditions along with other central banks.
The London interbank lending market tightened sharply today, as banks' concerns about the solvency of their peers grew.
STERLING
London 15:25 12:28
US dollar 2.0095 up from 2.0067
Euro 1.2737 up from 1.2721
Yen 194.73 up from 194.18
Swiss franc 1.9788 up from 1.9736