Sterling hits high against dollar

Sterling jumped to a oneyear high as the Bank of England came under pressure to hike interest rates following a larger-than-expected leap from inflation.

The pound was up more than 0.8% versus the dollar at 1.327, marking its highest level against the greenback since September 2016.

The currency was also gaining ground against the euro, hovering near a sixweek high at 1.109.

However, the stronger pound weighed on the FTSE 100 Index, which closed down 12.9 points at 7,400.69.

It comes after data from the Office for National Statistics showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation hit 2.9% in August, outstripping economists’ expectations of 2.8%, thanks to higher clothing and fuel prices.

Across Europe, the French Cac 40 and German Dax both ended the day higher up 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.

Brent crude prices rose 0.7% to 54.30 US dollars (£45.39) per barrel following reports oil production among Opec members fell last month.