The pound approached an 11-week high versus the dollar amid speculation a report will show U.K. construction shrank at a slower pace in April. Sterling rose against the euro before the European Central Bank decides on interest rates. An index of building-industry output increased to 48 from 47.2 in March, Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply will say today, according to the median forecast of nine analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. A reading below 50 nonetheless indicates contraction. “The data that we’ve been seeing hasn’t been as bad as expected� and this has supported sterling, said Jane Foley, senior foreign-exchange strategist at Rabobank International in London. Still “the data has just not been good enough for the market to see good reasons for additional momentum. That means sterling will remain vulnerable.� The pound was at $1.5570 as of 9:12 a.m. London time from $1.5555 yesterday, when it climbed to $1.5606, the highest since Feb. 13. It appreciated 0.2 percent to 84.57 pence per euro after reaching 83.98 pence on April 26, the strongest level since Jan. 24. The construction gauge hasn’t been at 50 or above since October. Data yesterday showed a gauge of U.K. manufacturing shrank in April less than economists predicted, weakening the case for more central-bank stimulus that debases the currency. Sterling has declined 2.8 percent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. It has gained 2.5 percent in the past month. ECB Rate The ECB will lower its main refinancing rate by 25 basis points to a record-low 0.5 percent today, according to the median forecast of 70 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee next meets on May 8-9. U.K. government bonds declined, with the 10-year yield rising three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 1.68 percent. The 1.75 percent debt maturing September 2022 fell 0.28 or 2.80 pounds per 1,000-pound face amount, to 100.57. Gilts have returned 2.1 percent this year through yesterday, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. German bonds and U.S. Treasuries gained 1.1 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Lukanyo Mnyanda in Edinburgh at lmnyanda@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Dobson at pdobson2@bloomberg.net

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