Pound breaks 2 dollar mark

The British pound broke through the $2 mark today for the first time in nearly 15 years after new data showed an unexpected surge in inflation, prompting speculation of interest rate increases. The pound rose to $2.0002 after the inflation report was released, its highest level since “Black Wednesday” in September 1992, when Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Despite dropping back to $1.9985 — up from $1.9900 late Monday in New York — analysts said the currency was on its way up after breaching the $2 mark and the release of US housing and inflation data could see another spike above that level. “So far the move has proved to be unsustainable, but with US economic data due later in the session, further dollar downside may be seen in due course,” chief market analyst, CMC Market , David Jones said.

–JANE WARDELL