Daily currency report

The sterling held near a three-month high against the dollar, while the dollar tumbled the most in more than a week against the euro, and dropped slightly versus the yen. On a final note, oil prices dropped, as the 15 Britons seized were freed.

GBP

The sterling was steady against a broadly pressured dollar as the BoE's two-day meeting got underway, with plenty of speculation as to whether the BoE would raise interest rates to dampen inflation in the UK economy. A report by BoE showing that Britons borrowed the most against the value of their homes in almost three years during the fourth quarter is a sign that surging property prices are fuelling consumer spending.

USD

The dollar dropped against the euro and the yen and continued its slide to a 10-year low versus the Australian dollar. Following disappointing numbers, the dollar dropped further against the euro, and was down versus the sterling with the drop in oil prices helping to curb the US dollar's losses.

EUR

Due to the combination of strong eurozone data and weak US data, the euro successfully erased all of its losses. Unlike in the US, the service sector in the eurozone actually saw faster growth in the month of March with an accelerated activity in France and Germany.

JPY

The yen fell to a five-week low against the dollar and the euro as a solid performance from Asian equities boosted investors' appetite for risk. Still the yen did recover in the later session and showed gains as investors shifted their focus to the monthly US payrolls report due out.