Sterling hits two-month high against dollar

Sterling inched higher against the dollar to July 17 highs, following a spate of developments and data from Britain and the US today. 

As of 03:17 GMT, GBP/USD rose 0.15% to 1.3168, with an intraday low at 1.3099, and a nine-week high at 1.3215. 

Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said during remarks about central bank communication at the Bank of Estonia's 100th anniversary conference that businesses are worried about the uncertainty of the Brexit process, which rose to steep levels in recent months.  

Haldane also called on central banks, and the English one in particular, to make their future directions clear to restore confidence to households and companies during this period. 

Otherwise, earlier UK data showed consumer prices rose 0.7%, beating estimates of 0.5%, while accelerating to 2.7% on a yearly basis, beating estimates of 2.4%. 

Producer prices when it came to input products rose 0.5%, up from no change in the previous reading, while slowing down to 8.7% y/y from 10.9%.

UK house prices rose 3.1%, slowing down from 3.2% in May and beating estimates of 2.8%. 

On another note, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney called for a "water tight solution" to the Irish border issue hanging in Brexit negotiations with Britain, adding that the European Union is showing a sort of flexibility that can be worked with to achieve a deal with enough effort. 

Otherwise, earlier US data showed housing starts surged 9.2% to an annualized 1.282 million units in August, compared to a 0.3% dip in July to 1.174 million, beating estimates of a 5.7% increase. 

Conversely, building permits fell 5.7% last month to 1.229 million, compared to a 0.9% increase in July to 1.303 million, while analysts expected a 0.5% increase to 1.310 million, as the current account deficit shrank to $101 billion from $122 billion in the first quarter.