Forex - GBP/USD hits 8-month low amid BoE easing concerns

Published 09/14/2011, 04:06 AM
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Investing.com – The pound fell to an eight-month low against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, weighed by concerns that the Bank of England may soon implement fresh easing measures to shore up the faltering economy.

GBP/USD hit 1.5707 during early European trade, the pair’s lowest since January 12; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5740, shedding 0.23%.

Cable was likely to find support at 1.5582, the low of January 12 and resistance at 1.5869, Tuesday’s high.

Data on Tuesday showing that inflation in the U.K. ticked up last month was not enough to quell speculation that the BoE may resort to further stimulus measures to bolster growth, after a recent string of soft data underlined concerns over the fragile economy.

The National Statistics Office said the annualized rate of consumer price inflation in the U.K. rose to 4.5% last month, from 4.4% in July, in line with expectations.

A separate report showed that the country’s trade deficit remained unchanged at GBP8.9 billion in July, quashing hopes that the weaker pound would support export demand.

Also Tuesday, BoE policymaker Adam Posen said the central bank should act immediately to introduce more monetary stimulus into the economy and cooperate with the government to boost business lending in order to support economic growth.

The pound was also lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.09% to hit 0.8675.

Later in the day, the U.K. was to publish government data on the claimant count change, as well as data on average earnings and the unemployment rate. Meanwhile, the U.S. was to produce official data on producer price inflation and retail sales.

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