Major currencies were range bound in late trade as the much awaited speech from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan failed to yield fresh insight into the outlook for the US economy. At 1715, the euro was trading at USD1.1715 against the dollar, while against sterling it stood at STG0.7139. Greenspan said nothing on the dollar but commented that recent data had not altered his belief that the economy would pick up as the year progressed.
Sterling held its own in late trade after the dovish tone struck by the minutes of the Bank of England's last rate setting meeting in May. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a narrow five to four margin to keep its refi rate unchanged at 3.75pc at the conclusion of its last meeting on 8 May. The minutes of the meeting, released today, revealed that the dissenting votes came from Christopher Allsopp, Kate Barker, Marian Bell and Stephen Nickell - who preferred a 25 basis point reduction to 3.50pc. The pound has more than recovered from its initial weakness as markets noted that two of the MPC's doves - Allsopp and Nickell - would soon be leaving the committee, thus strengthening the hand of the hawks. //www.fxcentre.com