Pound Sterling trades lower as focus shifts to Fed-BoE policy

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The Pound Sterling (GBP) is down against its major currency peers, trading 0.2% lower around 1.3500 against the US Dollar (USD), during the European trading session on Tuesday.

The Pound Sterling faces selling pressure against its major currency peers amid the BoE policy uncertainty.
Investors expect both the Fed and the BoE to leave interest rates unchanged.
BoE’s Bailey stated in the IMF event this month that there is no rush for a monetary policy adjustment.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) is down against its major currency peers, trading 0.2% lower around 1.3500 against the US Dollar (USD), during the European trading session on Tuesday. The British currency faces selling pressure amid uncertainty surrounding the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy announcement on Thursday.

Pound Sterling Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the US Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.12%	0.15%	0.06%	0.10%	0.08%	0.27%	0.34%
EUR	-0.12%		0.02%	-0.07%	-0.05%	-0.06%	0.09%	0.22%
GBP	-0.15%	-0.02%		-0.09%	-0.05%	-0.06%	0.10%	0.19%
JPY	-0.06%	0.07%	0.09%		0.06%	0.04%	0.20%	0.29%
CAD	-0.10%	0.05%	0.05%	-0.06%		-0.02%	0.13%	0.23%
AUD	-0.08%	0.06%	0.06%	-0.04%	0.02%		0.17%	0.28%
NZD	-0.27%	-0.09%	-0.10%	-0.20%	-0.13%	-0.17%		0.09%
CHF	-0.34%	-0.22%	-0.19%	-0.29%	-0.23%	-0.28%	-0.09%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).

The BoE is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at 3.75%, with an 8-1 majority, as the United Kingdom (UK) core Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth cooled down in March. However, BoE officials will still likely warn of upside inflation risks as global energy prices remain elevated amid the long closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

In an event at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey stated that there is no rush for a monetary policy adjustment in the upcoming policy meeting on April 30, despite having a “very big negative shock”, Reuters reported.

We’re not going to rush to judgments on those things, because there are a lot of uncertainties around this, not just how it’s going to play out, but also how it’s going to pass through into the UK economy," Bailey said.

Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades 0.15% higher at around 98.65 during the European trade. The US Dollar is expected to trade cautiously, with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.50%-3.75% for the third time in a row.

Investors will pay close attention to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference for fresh cues on the US interest rate outlook.

Economic Indicator

BoE Interest Rate Decision

The Bank of England (BoE) announces its interest rate decision at the end of its eight scheduled meetings per year. If the BoE is hawkish about the inflationary outlook of the economy and raises interest rates it is usually bullish for the Pound Sterling (GBP). Likewise, if the BoE adopts a dovish view on the UK economy and keeps interest rates unchanged, or cuts them, it is seen as bearish for GBP.