The U.K. pound rose against the dollar after a report showed the slump in the country’s housing market eased in April, prompting speculation the worst of the country’s recession is past. The pound held near the highest level in four months versus its U.S. counterpart as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the number of real-estate agents and surveyors saying prices fell exceeded those reporting gains by the least since January 2008. A government report today may show manufacturing production in March dropped by the least in seven months, according to economists in a Bloomberg survey. “The data appear supportive for the pound,” Greg Gibbs, a currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Sydney, wrote in a report today. The pound gained as much as 0.7 percent to $1.5215 and was at $1.5212 by 9:12 a.m. in London. It climbed to $1.5261 yesterday, the highest level since Jan. 9. It was little changed at 89.80 pence per euro. The Bank of England last week said it will spend an extra 50 billion pounds ($68 billion) to increase the amount of cash in the economy, saying surveys suggest “promising signs” the recession is moderating. The British Retail Consortium said in a separate report today that store sales climbed in April from a year earlier. U.K. gilts declined, pushing the 10-year yield three basis points higher to 3.69 percent. The 4.5 percent security due March 2019 slipped 0.26, or 2.6 pounds per 1,000-pound face amount, to 106.65. The two-year yield increased four basis points to 1.17 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

Source