The latest economic data out of the United Kingdom shows that inflation has improved, but that isn’t doing much to help the economy. The inflation news is paired with falling prices, and there are concerns about what the Bank of England will do next. Sterling is down almost across the board.
The Office for National Statistics reports that the annual figure for inflation is at 0.3 per cent, which is up from 0.2 per cent last year. However, even so, monthly figures show a decline of 0.8 per cent. This is due mainly to the increase in cost of motor fuels.
Sterling is heading lower against most of its major counterparts today, thanks in part to this news. The UK pound isn’t being helped by an improvement in the stock market, either. Even though the FTSE 100 is higher today, the gains are rather small, and there isn’t much to support the pound.
With questions about when the Bank of England will next raise rates, there isn’t a whole lot for the sterling to rally on right now.
At 14:59 GMT GBP/USD is lower, down to 1.4313 from the open at 1.4434. EUR/GBP is higher, moving up to 0.7793 from the open at 0.7727. GBP/JPY is down to 163.2970 from the open at 165.3850.
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