For the second consecutive day, the Pound Sterling inched higher versus the US Dollar, moving away from a 4-month trough struck last week. The Pound also gained ground against the safe haven Japanese Yen, which also recently struck a 4-month. An improvement in global risk sentiment helped to buoy the Pound. News of a large acquisition in the insurance industry with a Japan-based insurer buying out a British insurance company is also providing support in the near term.
As reported at 11:17 am (BDT) in London, the GBP/USD pair was trading at $1.5371, a gain of 0.63% for the Pound; the pair has ranged from $1.5249 and $1.5404. The GBP/JPY pair was up 1.35% at 184.6450 Yen, mid-point in the day’s trading band of 181.8409 Yen at the low and 184.97 Yen at the upper end.
Bank of England Rate Outlook Altered
As week ago, disappointing economic data raised traders’ doubts that the Bank of England might move to tighten monetary policy, especially given global growth concerns. Though the BoE governor said that the economic slowdown in China was not necessarily dictating the BoE policy, he did say that the concern was that UK inflation might be pushed lower. In general, worries over China are impacting the major central banks, many of which had seemed ready to reign in liquidity.