The pound found itself strengthening against the euro following the release of the latest Bank of England policy meeting minutes which revealed a unanimous vote to pause quantitative easing. However, sterling was down against the greenback. The US dollar was also up against the Japanese yen and euro, helped by a report that showed US housing stats rebounded more strongly than expected in January. Euro weakness was mainly contributed to by bearish investor sentiment over Greece's public finances. Eurozone trade data failed to move markets despite exports rising to 3.7 per cent in December.

Sterling

Sterling rose against the euro after Bank of England minutes showed the recent decision to pause its asset purchase programme was unanimous, but sentiment towards the pound remained shaky.

US Dollar

The US dollar rose broadly against both the euro and the pound, supported by signs of improvement in the US housing sector and a better than expected industrial output reading in January, while Greece's fiscal woes still weighed on the euro. Increases against the euro accelerated as reports showed US housing starts, as well as industrial output rose more strongly than expected in January.

Euro

The single currency found itself, once again, very much on the back foot against a basket of currencies including the US dollar and the pound. The euro extended losses against the US dollar and hit session lows, as bearish investor sentiment over Greece's public finances weighed on the single currency.

Japanese Yen

The Japanese yen fell to nine-day lows versus its major rivals as risk appetite was revived by easing fears over the Greek debt crisis. The yen was down against the US dollar, euro and sterling which meant Japanese exporters took advantage of these levels.