As markets await the Bank of England’s policy decisions which will be released later today, the Pound Sterling steadied broadly as investors attempt to balance the impact of an improving economy with the uncertainty of an upcoming election. For the most part, analysts believe that the UK central bank is unlikely to amend policy at this point, and will offer very few clues as to the timing of its next interest rate hike which many believe will be pushed back into 2016 given the fragility of the Eurozone economy as the UKs primary trading partner.
As reported at 9:34 am (GMT) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.5242, down 0.151%, moving away from the session peak of $1.5271. The EUR/GBP is lower at 0.7243, sliding from a session high of 0.7263.
All Eyes on ECB
In the Eurozone, market players are anxiously awaiting details on the European Central Bank’s latest Quantitative Easing Program. The ECB’s monetary and rate decision will be announced later today and Mario Draghi is likely to lay out his steps for the €1 trillion easing scheme which is expected to be launched imminently. Given that, the Euro was broadly lower, hitting an 11-year trough versus the greenback as the EUR/USD pair traded at $1.1027 before recovering slightly to $1.1044.