LONDON, England – Britons holidaying in Europe this summer were handed a windfall by the Bank of England after the prospects of higher interest rates sent the pound to a seven-and-a-half-year high against the single currency.
With the euro already weakened by the Greek debt crisis, comments on Thursday by the Bankโs governor, Mark Carney, pointing to dearer borrowing around the New Year pushed sterling to levels last seen in the month following the collapse of Northern Rock in the autumn of 2007.
Visitors to Spain, France and Italy will find they get 10% more euros for their pounds than a year ago, with UK consumers also benefitting from cheaper imported goods.
On the foreign exchanges, the pound was trading at โฌ1.4411 against the single currency, up around 0.5% on the day. It also increased in value against the US dollar and hit its highest level against a basket of global currencies since early 2008.