The British pound has posted considerable losses on the Wednesday session. In North American trade, GBP/USD is trading at 1.3356, down 0.57% on the day. Earlier in the day, the pair touched a low of 1.3305, its lowest level since December. On the release front, British CPI continued to fall, coming in at 2.4%. This was shy of the estimate of 2.5%. Over in the US, New Home Sales dropped to 662 thousand, well off the estimate of 680 thousand. Later in the day, the Federal Reserve minutes from the May policy meeting. On Thursday, the UK releases Retail Sales and the US will publish unemployment claims and Existing Home Sales.
Just a few weeks ago, there was a strong likelihood that the Bank of England would raise interest rates at the May policy meeting. However, a spate of weak economic releases and falling inflation resulted in policymakers standing pat, leaving rates at 0.50%. Are we in for a repeat performance in August? Inflation levels continue to drop, with April CPI falling to 2.4%, down from 2.5% a month earlier. The markets are eyeing two key indicators later in the week – Retail Sales and Second Estimate GDP. If these releases miss expectations, an August rate hike will be in serious doubt. Earlier in the week, the markets priced in an August hike at 50%, but this dropped to just 33% after Wednesday’s weak inflation data. The pound is also under pressure, and the downward spiral is likely to continue if this week’s indicators do not perform well.
On Tuesday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney testified before a parliamentary committee. Carney acknowledged that growth in the first quarter was weak, blaming “temporary and idiosyncratic factors”, such as massive snowstorms which hampered economic growth. The BoE has forecast growth in Q1 of just 0.4%. As for monetary policy, Carney was subtle, saying that “interest rates are more likely to go up than not, but at a gentle rate”. The markets clearly have their doubts about a rate hike in August, as Wednesday saw the pound fall and the likelihood of an August rate hike drop, following another drop in inflation.
