Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The pound rose for the first day in five against the dollar as reports showed faster-than-expected growth in the German and French economies, boosting demand for assets perceived to be higher risk. U.K. government bonds declined, snapping two days of gains that sent two-year yields to a record low, as equities advanced. Sterling’s gains pared a weekly loss after the Bank of England cut its forecast for U.K. economic growth and the Federal Reserve said the U.S. recovery will be slower than expected. “Cable is mostly dollar-influenced today,” said Adam Cole, head of global foreign-exchange strategy at Royal Bank of Canada in London, referring to the relationship between the U.K. and U.S. currencies. “The dollar is softer on better appetite for risk because data today has been good, including for example the German gross domestic product data.” The pound rose 0.5 percent to $1.5660 as of 9:07 a.m. in London, headed for a weekly drop of 1.8 percent. Sterling gained 0.3 percent to 82.13 pence per euro. The yield on the 10-year government bond rose one basis point to 3.13 percent. The two-year yield was two basis points higher at 0.75 percent, after reaching a record 0.69 percent yesterday. The FTSE 100 Index of shares gained 0.4 percent. German second-quarter gross domestic product rose 2.2 percent from the first quarter, the fastest growth since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991. Economists predicted the economy would expand 1.3 percent.

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