July 31 (Bloomberg) -- The pound rose against the dollar, set for a fifth monthly gain, after a report showed British consumer confidence held at the highest level since April 2008. The U.K. currency was poised to snap a five-week drop versus the euro as the FTSE 100 Index headed for a third weekly advance. An index of consumer sentiment was unchanged in July at minus 25, market researcher GfK NOP said today in London. The reading is up from minus 39 a year earlier. Sterling “squeezed sharply higher overnight,” Sue Trinh, a senior currency strategist in Sydney at RBC Capital Markets, wrote today in a report. The pound climbed 0.4 percent to $1.6566 as of 7:16 a.m. in London, poised for the longest run of monthly gains since February 2004. The British currency was little changed versus the euro at 85.34 pence, little changed in the month. The FTSE 100, a benchmark for U.K. stocks, may open little changed today, according to David Buik, an analyst at BGC Partners in London. The index is headed for its third consecutive weekly gain. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Tilles in London at dtilles@bloomberg.net; Ben Martin in London bmartin38@bloomberg.net

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