Pound Sterling trades subduedly ahead of Fed-BoE policy announcements

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The Pound Sterling (GBP) trades with caution against its major currency peers, higher against antipodeans, during the early European trading session on Wednesday.

The Pound Sterling trades cautiously against its currency peers in the countdown to Fed-BoE policy announcements.
Both the Fed and the BoE are expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
Last week, BoE’s Pill stressed on tightening monetary conditions to contain accelerating price pressures.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) trades with caution against its major currency peers, higher against antipodeans, during the early European trading session on Wednesday. The GBP/USD pair edges lower to near 1.3510, but is broadly sideways, as the US Dollar (USD) trades calmly ahead of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement at 18:00 GMT.

Pound Sterling Price Today

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

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.11%	0.09%	0.05%	0.06%	0.29%	0.39%	0.04%
EUR	-0.11%		-0.02%	-0.06%	-0.05%	0.18%	0.30%	-0.07%
GBP	-0.09%	0.02%		-0.04%	-0.04%	0.19%	0.32%	-0.05%
JPY	-0.05%	0.06%	0.04%		0.00%	0.25%	0.37%	0.04%
CAD	-0.06%	0.05%	0.04%	-0.00%		0.25%	0.35%	-0.02%
AUD	-0.29%	-0.18%	-0.19%	-0.25%	-0.25%		0.12%	-0.27%
NZD	-0.39%	-0.30%	-0.32%	-0.37%	-0.35%	-0.12%		-0.37%
CHF	-0.04%	0.07%	0.05%	-0.04%	0.02%	0.27%	0.37%

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).

As of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, is 0.1% up around 98.70.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the Fed is certain to keep interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.50%-3.75% for the third meeting in a row. The United States (US) central bank is expected to maintain the status quo, as elevated energy prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have de-anchored global inflation expectations.

The CME Fedwatch tool also shows that the Fed is unlikely to make any monetary policy adjustment during the year.

Like the Fed, the BoE is also expected to hold interest rates steady on Thursday. The BoE is seen leaving interest rates unchanged at 3.75%, with an 8-1 majority. BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill could be the one policymaker voting for an interest rate hike as he expressed the need to tighten monetary conditions, in an event last week, stressing the need to contain elevating price pressures.

Meanwhile, oil prices have accelerated further as US President Donald Trump has instructed aides to extend the blockade on Iranian sea ports, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

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.