Investing.com – The pound was down against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee left interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5%, as expected.
GBP/USD hit 1.6123 during European early afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since February 28; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6154, shedding 0.28%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6070, the low of February 28 and resistance at 1.6242, Wednesday’s high.
Interest rates have stood at 0.5% since March 2009 when the central bank slashed rates to an all-time low and embarked on an unprecedented program of quantitative easing.
The pound has rallied against the dollar this year, on growing speculation the central bank may raise rates by mid-year to tame inflation pressures, but uncertainty remains over the timing, due to the uneven nature of the U.K. economic recovery.
Some bank policymakers have indicated that they want to see how the economy performs in the first quarter before changing policy.
Meanwhile, the pound was up against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.23% to hit 0.8563.
Also Thursday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output rose by 1.0% in January, more than reversing a 0.1% fall in December, and the strongest rate of growth since March 2010. Analysts had expected an increase of 0.8%.
GBP/USD hit 1.6123 during European early afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since February 28; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6154, shedding 0.28%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6070, the low of February 28 and resistance at 1.6242, Wednesday’s high.
Interest rates have stood at 0.5% since March 2009 when the central bank slashed rates to an all-time low and embarked on an unprecedented program of quantitative easing.
The pound has rallied against the dollar this year, on growing speculation the central bank may raise rates by mid-year to tame inflation pressures, but uncertainty remains over the timing, due to the uneven nature of the U.K. economic recovery.
Some bank policymakers have indicated that they want to see how the economy performs in the first quarter before changing policy.
Meanwhile, the pound was up against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.23% to hit 0.8563.
Also Thursday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output rose by 1.0% in January, more than reversing a 0.1% fall in December, and the strongest rate of growth since March 2010. Analysts had expected an increase of 0.8%.