The Pound made great gains against the Euro, Dollar and Rand in the afternoon’s trading session following the Monetary Policy Committee’s split decision on raising interest rates.
The vote came in at 5-3 just after noon today to keep rates on hold at the record low 0.25%. Kristin Forbes surprisingly found support from two others to raise rates to 0.5%.
Markets were surprised and rightly so since this was the first time since 2011 that there has been 3 dissenters on the committee. Sterling reacted accordingly trading up aggressively against all major currencies, in particular recovering losses against the USD after yesterdays Fed announcement.
This announcement has acted as a smokescreen for the poor retail sales figures which came out in the morning session. Retail sales fell sharply last month pouring more uncertainty on the UK economy as we head into the Brexit negotiations.
Related Insights
Morning Brief – Germany and the EU
Humphrey Percy
Wed 1 May 2024
Germany and the EU The Germany Supply Chain Act came into force in 2023 as a result of Germans wanting to do something good for employees in other countries in particular with respect to human rights and environmental issues. So far so good. But a combination of cost and bureaucracy overlaid with the difficulty of […]
Morning Brief – US Dollar
Humphrey Percy
Mon 29 Apr 2024
US Dollar With the US Election just over 6 months away it is time to think about the implications for USD with a new President. In case you have missed it Trump plans In the event he wins to devalue USD to boost US exports as part of his MAGA philosophy. As we know ex […]
Morning Brief – Japanese Yen
Humphrey Percy
Fri 26 Apr 2024
Japanese Yen With JPY at a new 34 year low versus EUR, the market is set for an ambush by the Bank of Japan if it acts today at the end of their Policy Meeting to support the Yen. The reason that the market is susceptible is because it has convinced itself that the BoJ […]
