The Pound Sterling initially ticked higher but soon after fell to a 6-day trough after the latest economic data on the UK economy showed wage growth still slow and lagging UK inflation. The Pound was already under some pressure after markets interested comments made by policymakers from the Bank of England to be of a dovish bias. The BoE’s newest member, the deputy governor, said that he was not in agreement with the MPC stance of a needed rate hike. One other BoE member, also a newcomer, said that in her mind data would drive the decision.
As reported at 11:22 am (BST) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.3175, down 0.10%; the pair has ranged from a session trough of $1.3139 to a peak of $1.3212. The EUR/GBP was down 0.03% and trading at 0.8917 Pence; earlier, the pair had hit a high of 0.85918 Pence while the low stands at 0.88965 Pence.
Ahead to Next Data Point
The UK’s Office of National Statistics reported that average earnings excluding bonuses ticked up to 2.2% annually for the 3-month period ending in August, and though initially upbeat, markets’ second reaction to it was that it likely couldn’t change the Pound’s outlook in the long run. One currency strategist in the Netherlands said that the decline in real wages is likely to lead to a fall in consumption. Ahead, markets will look to tomorrow’s release of retail sales figures to better ascertain the economic health in Britain.
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