European stock markets rose for the fifth day in a row yesterday buoyed by the prospect of some resolution in Greece and the news of a nuclear treaty between US and Iran.

London was the exception to the strong gains with the FTSE100 Index in London closed just 0.2 percent higher at 6,753.

Investors were taken aback by the testimony to MPs by Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, who said the time for a UK rate increase is moving closer and that it was time for households to manage their finances with higher interest rates in mind.

“The point at which interest rates may begin to rise is moving closer with the performance of the economy, consistent growth above trend, a firming in domestic costs, counter-balanced somewhat by disinflation imported from abroad,” he told the politicians.

The markets, which hadn’t anticipated any increase in rates until next spring or early summer at the earliest, may have to reassess their positions.

Sterling rose immediately against the dollar and the euro where its currently trading at 70p, which is good news of course for Irish exporters - and bad news if you are in Ireland and planning a trip to London.