The Pound Sterling held steady and traded close to a recently struck 7-month peak versus the US Dollar as investors await Thursday’s release of the inflation report by the Bank of England. The BoE will also be delivering its monetary policy statement at that time. Over the past month, the Pound has rallied nearly 5% and FX traders are hoping that there will be something within either statement which could provide fresh impetus for the Pound. Prior to the BoE statement, several key economic data releases are expected out, including manufacturing and industrial production for the month of March. Analysts are expecting some improvement in both sectors on a month-over-month basis, but a decline when compared to the previous year’s figures.
As reported at 11:06 am (BST) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.2929, down 0.07% and moving off the low struck earlier in the session when the pair hit $1.2901. The EUR/GBP was down 0.12% to trade at 0.8432 Pence.
Super Tuesday Eyed
Deemed “Super Thursday,” the various BoE releases are scrutinized for hints on the BoE’s currently loose monetary policy; how long interest rates might be kept at these record lows will be critical for traders. At the same time, the BoE’s 2% inflation target has already been breached, and traders will want to know how the BoE forecasts rising inflation’s impact on future rates.