Pound drops 1% against dollar, FTSE rises on BoE rate hike

British pound took a downward trend on Thursday following the Bank of England's decision to lift its benchmark rate by 0.25 points for the first time since July 2007. Sterling dropped over 1% against the dollar to hit a daily low of 1.3098. Minutes later, the UK currency recovered slightly and it traded 0.85% in the red against the greenback and changed hands for 1.3132. The pound fell 1.32% against the euro to go for 1.1249 at 1:17 pm CET.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 was around 0.59% in the positive territory with Mediclinic International being the best performer as the private hospital group's stocks jumped over 3%. Royal Mail and Babcock International followed with increases of 2.24% and 2%, respectively.

Baha Breaking News (BBN) / DN