The Pound Sterling continues to slide during London trade on Tuesday as yet another member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England signaled a willingness to lower interest rates at the upcoming policy meeting. Disappointing economic data released yesterday essentially increased bets that the central bank will take a more accommodative stance; most analysts and market players are betting on a 25 basis points rate cut. Economists say that even if the BoE does not decide to lower rates this month, that the Pound will still be weighed by worries over the Brexit transition.
As of 11:16 am in London trading, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.2984, down 0.0323%, and moving off the session trough of $1.29540. The EUR/GBP is trading higher at 0.8572 Pence, a gain of 0.007%; the pair has ranged from a low of 0.85861 Pence to a high of 0.85965 Pence.
US and UK Inflation Data Eyed
Inflation data for the US economy is due out later today, and the latest poll suggests that core CPI is likely to be flat for December at 0.2% on a month-over-month basis. On an annual basis, core CPI is expected to be 2.3%. The UK's inflation data is due out tomorrow, with analysts calling for an unchanged reading of 1.5% for December (annualized basis). Annualized core CPI is predicted at 1.7%; core inflation strips out volatile components like food and energy,