Dismal Data Sends Pound Lower

The Pound Sterling hit a fresh low for this year today after a disappointing reading of personal inflation results. According to the UK's Office of National Statistics, CPI for April fell to 2.4% (year-over-year) while core CPI fell to 2.1% (year-over-year) against analysts'/ expectations of 2.5% and 2.2%. Producer Price inflation was mixed, overall. The ONS also reported that retail prices met economists' forecasts while the DCLG Housing Price Index missed forecasts.

As reported at 11:07 am (BST) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.3347, down 0.64% and just off the session trough of $1.3344. The EUR/GBP is trading at 0.87862 Pence, a gain of 0.19798%; the pair has ranged from a session low of 0.87392 Pence and a peak of 0.87861 Pence.

Central Banks' Policy Expectations

As a result of the data and with the growing worries over the Brexit talks, markets are no longer expecting a Bank of England rate hike in this calendar year. Markets' focus will turn to the US later today with the release of preliminary PMI data for April and the release of the latest meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve's FOMC. Those minutes will help FX traders gauge the timing of the next possible rate increase from the Federal Reserve Bank.

Barbara Zigah

After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.