The pound traded near the weakest level in almost two weeks versus the euro on speculation the minutes from the Bank of England’s most recent policy meeting will show interest rates will stay at a record low. Britain’s currency was also little changed against the dollar. The pound weakened yesterday after BOE Markets Director Paul Fisher said at a conference in London that officials haven’t ruled out adding to their bond-purchase program if needed to support the economy. Fischer told the Daily Mail on June 1 that he wants to be sure the economy is over its “soft patch” before the key interest rate is increased. The pound was little changed at 88.69 pence per euro as of 7:34 a.m. in London. Sterling traded at $1.6249 from $1.6245 and at 130.43 yen from 130.31. U.K. monetary policy makers, led by Governor Mervyn King, held rates at a record low 0.5 percent on June 9 to support the economy, even as inflation held at the fastest pace since October 2008 last month. Minutes of the meeting may show support for tighter monetary policy within the committee has been eroded following the departure of Andrew Sentance, who maintained his call for a half-point increase in the key rate in April. Sentance, who began calling for higher rates a year ago and sought a 50 basis-point increase at every meeting since February, was replaced by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Ben Broadbent on June 1. To contact the reporter on this story: Garth Theunissen in London gtheunissen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net

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