The pound gained for a fifth consecutive day versus the euro on speculation the Bank of England won't cut interest rates with the housing market showing signs of growth and inflation holding above target. The pound advanced for a second week last week as consumer prices rose to their highest since the consumer-price index was introduced in 1997, and house prices fell at the slowest pace in 14 months. A report this week from the Nationwide Building Society will probably show the U.K.'s $6 trillion residential property market is rallying after two months of declines. ``Data seems to suggest there won't be a rate cut in the U.K. in 2005,'' said Steven Saywell, chief currency strategist at Citigroup Inc. in London. ``So the pound may stay stronger for longer.'' Against the euro, the pound was at 67.58 by 10:55 a.m. in London from 67.67 pence late on Oct. 21. The U.K. currency was also at $1.7678 from $1.7671. U.K. house prices rose 0.3 percent in October after falling 0.2 percent last month, Nationwide may say this week, according to the median forecast of 16 economists. Retail sales climbed 0.7 percent after rising 0.2 percent in August, the Office of National Statistics said Oct. 20. A survey from Web site Rightmove.com on Oct. 17 said that house prices rose for the first month in four in October. The annual rate of consumer-price increases rose to 2.5 percent in September, the fourth monthly gain, the Office for National Statistics said Oct. 18. Limiting Factors Gains may be limited after a report today showed house prices fell to the lowest in two years this month. The average cost of a home in England and Wales fell 0.1 percent from September, the online analysis service Hometrack said. Prices are down 3.5 percent in the past year and may fall further, the researcher said. A report Oct. 21 showed economic growth in the U.K., Europe's second-biggest economy, slowed in the third quarter. Gross domestic product gained 0.4 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, matching economists expectations, after growing 0.5 percent in the prior quarter, the Office for National Statistics said. Annual expansion picked up to 1.6 percent from a 12-year low of 1.5 percent. The yield on the three-month interest-rate futures contract due in December was at 4.58 percent today, from 4.57 percent on Oct. 21, suggesting traders have pared bets on a rate cut this year. The futures settle to the London interbank offered rate, a 90-day benchmark that has averaged 16 basis points above the central bank rate for the past 10 years. Minutes on Oct. 19 showed all nine BOE members voted to keep interest rates at 4.5 percent at their meeting on Oct. 6. The BOE lowered its lending rate a quarter point on Aug. 4 for the first time in two years.