Egyptian military says operation aims to protect national sovereignty and resources.

BoE MPC member Green said at an IMF meeting that UK growth running ahead of expectations and a resilient labour market indicate the Bank has not tightened policy enough and interest rates should be higher than current levels. She warned the BoE should not rely on financial markets to deliver tighter conditions. The IMF has raised its forecast for UK growth this year from 1.0% to 1.3%. "Our GDP data show monetary policy is not sufficiently tight and there is not much spare capacity in the economy," she said, adding recent labour-market data suggest the depth of weakness may have peaked while employment remains loose. Green, one of the MPC's more hawkish members, has supported a 25bp rise to 4% in recent months to guard against a wage–price spiral.

New York silver futures slipped below $61/oz, down 0.09% intraday.