The British Pound (GBP) depreciated against the US Dollar (USD) after the Bank of England (BoE) decided to keep rates unchanged and warned about interest rate cuts due to "a lot of economic uncertainty at the moment," said BoE Governor Andrew Bailey. At the time of writing, GBP/USD is trading at 1.2964, down 0.29%.
Sterling falls 0.29% as Bailey warns of economic uncertainty, dissent emerges within BoE
Traders are still digesting the BoE's decision, which wasn't unanimous, with Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Swati Dhingra being the dissenter, with her voting for a 25 basis points rate cut (bps).
In its monetary policy statement, the bank maintained that "a gradual and careful approach to policy restraint remains appropriate." The BoE reiterated that monetary policy is not on a preset course and added that domestic wage pressures remain elevated, though they are moderating.
BoE officials noted that labor costs drove the increment in non-energy goods prices and underscored that surveys suggest weak economic growth.
Initially, the GBP/USD pair spiked to 1.2979 before reversing its course and re-testing the daily low of 1.2935. So far, the major has stabilized near 1.2960, but it remains below its opening price.
Across the pond, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending March 15 ticked up from 221K to 223K, but was below forecasts of 224K. Other data showed that business activity is deteriorating, with the Philadelphia Fed Business Index tumbling from 44.3 to 18.1 in February.
Source: Fxstreet