Pound Pushes Back Above USD1.60

The pound has punched it's way back above $1.60 in early trade this morning, hitting $1.6072 as a bit of risk appetite re-emerges.

According to the Nationwide Building Society, UK house prices rose by a surprising 1.2% in May, easing the annual rate of falls from 15% to 11.3%.

Sterling is now withing spitting distance of it's Wednesday high of $1.6083, it's highest level since Nov 5th 2008.

The dollar is down after news that South Korea said that it's national pension funds would hold fewer US treasuries in future. The spectre of GM filing the largest bankruptcy in history on Monday also added a bearish tone.