The British currency spiked up further against major opponents during New York mid-day trading on Friday. The pound climbed to more than 3-week high against the euro and a multi-month high versus the US dollar.

After edging down to 1.5554 by about 6;30 am ET, the pound surged up against the US dollar in New York mid-day deals today. As of now, the pound is trading near a new multi-month high of 1.5723 versus the greenback, compared to yesterday's close of 1.5615.

According to a report released by the U.S. Commerce Department today, the gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter compared to the revised 3.7 percent jump seen in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to increase by 2.5 percent compared to the 2.7 percent growth that had been reported for the first quarter.

Extending European session uptrend, the sterling advanced further against the euro in today's North American session. The pound jumped to more than a 3-week high of 0.8307 versus the euro by about 11:35 am ET, compared to 0.8380 hit late New York Thursday.

Eurozone annual inflation rose to a 20-month high in July. The annual inflation rose to 1.7% in July, logging the highest rate since November 2008, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, released on Friday. The inflation rate matched economists' estimate. In June, the inflation rate was 1.4%. The European Central Bank targets inflation rates of 'below, but close to, 2%' over the medium term.

Despite a fall in German unemployment, the Eurozone jobless rate remained at its highest level since August 1998, the statistical office said in a separate communique. The jobless rate in June was 10%, unchanged for the third straight month. The EU 27 unemployment rate came in at 9.6%, unchanged from May.

The British currency also traded higher against its Swiss and Japanese counterparts from early morning session's downward trading today. After touching 1-week lows of 1.6187 against the franc and 134.25 versus the yen at around 8:35 am ET, the sterling reversed its direction and climbed to 1.6395 and 136.10, respectively, at about 11:00 am ET.

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