UK pound is heading lower against the US dollar today, dropping as weak economic news weighs. On top of that, it’s not helping that a Bank of England policymaker is publicly calling for more asset purchases to help stimulate the flaggin economy.
David Miles, one of the policymakers on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, is calling for more asset purchases. The BOE has kept its asset purchases fairly stable the last few months, waiting to see how current easing programs are helping the UK economy.
Miles insists, though, that the UK economy is still too weak to recover without the help of more stimulus. He has long been in favor of increased asset purchases, and he is now renewing that call amidst a drop in bond prices and weak economic data. He’s also been encouraged by the recent remarks from outgoing BOE Governor Mervyn King about how far off tighter monetary policy should be.
Even though Miles has largely been overruled in MPC meetings for months, he is still vocal about the idea of more purchases, and the latest economic data might support him.
At 13:30 GMT GBP/USD is down to 1.5379 from the open at 1.5423. EUR/GBP is down to 0.8478 from the open at 0.84383. GBP/JPY is down to 150.0355 from the open at 150.8750.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Great Britain Pound,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.