Investing.com - The pound was higher against the U.S. dollar in choppy trade on Thursday as incoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney testified before a U.K. parliamentary committee and the BoE left interest rates on hold but said that it remained ready to provide further stimulus if necessary.
GBP/USD hit 1.5769 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5713, gaining 0.36%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5630, Wednesday’s low and a five-month low and resistance at 1.5767, the session high.
The BoE said it was maintaining the benchmark interest rate at 0.50% and voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at GBP375 billion.
The BoE took the unusual step of releasing a rate statement following the policy meeting.
It is appropriate to look beyond the fact that inflation is currently running above target, as removing stimulus would risk derailing the recovery, the BoE said.
Meanwhile, in testimony to the U.K. parliamentary committee, Mark Carney, the current head of the Bank of Canada, said it is the responsibility of the BOE to review the tools it uses and if need be for stimulus to devise new instruments.
He added that 'considerable monetary stimulus' will be needed when he gets into the job in June.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that U.K. manufacturing production rose 1.6% in December, double expectations for a 0.8% increase, while industrial production increased by 1.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.9% rise.
A separate report showed that the U.K. trade deficit narrowed to GBP8.9 billion in December, in line with expectations from a revised deficit of GBP9.3 billion the previous month.
Elsewhere, sterling was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.01% to 0.8634.
The euro remained supported ahead of remarks by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the bank’s post-policy meeting later in the day amid wariness that he could express concerns over the impact of the stronger euro on the economic recovery.
The ECB was widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75% on Thursday.
GBP/USD hit 1.5769 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5713, gaining 0.36%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5630, Wednesday’s low and a five-month low and resistance at 1.5767, the session high.
The BoE said it was maintaining the benchmark interest rate at 0.50% and voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at GBP375 billion.
The BoE took the unusual step of releasing a rate statement following the policy meeting.
It is appropriate to look beyond the fact that inflation is currently running above target, as removing stimulus would risk derailing the recovery, the BoE said.
Meanwhile, in testimony to the U.K. parliamentary committee, Mark Carney, the current head of the Bank of Canada, said it is the responsibility of the BOE to review the tools it uses and if need be for stimulus to devise new instruments.
He added that 'considerable monetary stimulus' will be needed when he gets into the job in June.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that U.K. manufacturing production rose 1.6% in December, double expectations for a 0.8% increase, while industrial production increased by 1.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.9% rise.
A separate report showed that the U.K. trade deficit narrowed to GBP8.9 billion in December, in line with expectations from a revised deficit of GBP9.3 billion the previous month.
Elsewhere, sterling was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.01% to 0.8634.
The euro remained supported ahead of remarks by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the bank’s post-policy meeting later in the day amid wariness that he could express concerns over the impact of the stronger euro on the economic recovery.
The ECB was widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75% on Thursday.