Pound rises as dollar, sterling lose ground

The pound rose again in value against sterling yesterday as the British currency and the dollar continued to slide on world markets.

The pound closed at 86.6p against sterling from 85.84p a day earlier. Sterling also dropped below DM2.90.

The dollar and sterling lost ground against the yen and the mark as traders became nervous in advance of Wall Street's opening. Today's meeting between US treasury secretary, Mr Robert Rubin and Japan's Mr Kiichi Miyazawa, also fuelled nervousness as some investors fear concerted intervention on the yen's behalf following those talks. Since the announcement of the meeting the dollar had dropped more than 12 yen or nearly 9 per cent to around 135 yesterday.