- Summary:
- Citing downside risks to global economy from US-China trade war, Bank of England leaves rates unchanged, leaving GBPUSD trading lower.
The Bank of England today left the key interest rate unchanged at 0.75%, which was in line with market consensus and has left the GBPUSD still trading in a tight intraday range. This is coming as the Bank of England released minutes showing an expected voting pattern for the last meeting (0-0-9), with all 9 members voting to keep rates unchanged.
The bank also maintained its Asset Purchase Facility at £435 billion, and has cited uncertainties around Brexit as the reason behind weaker growth in productivity. It also noted that economic growth in the UK had slowed when compared with the Q3 forecast (0.2% as against 0.3%), and expected inflation to stay below the 2% target for the rest of the year.
As many central banks have noted, the Bank of England also noted that the US-China trade war had weakened the outlook for global growth and impacted global investment negatively.
GBPUSD Generally Range-Bound, But Trading Slightly Lower
The GBPUSD is trading lower on the day after being firmly rejected at the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level, traced from the March 13 swing high to the Sept 3 swing low. A near term downside break of 1.23837 (Sep 9 high in role reversal) could bring the Sep 12 low of 1.22833 into focus.
On the flip side, a bounce off 1.23832 could see a retest of 1.2509 (July 24 and Sept 17 high). GBPUSD is currently trading at 1.24459 as at the time of writing. More Brexit headlines could impact the pair.