Forex - Pound drops after BoE minutes not as hawkish as some had expected |
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Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:15
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LONDON (AFX) - The pound fell after the minutes to this month's meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee were not as hawkish as some in the market had expected.At 9.52 am, the pound was trading at 1.9513 against the dollar, down from 1.9558 just before the minutes were released, while the euro rose to 0.6737 stg from 0.6724 previously.The minutes showed a 7-2 vote to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25 pct in February, with the MPC's newest members, Andrew Sentance and Tim Besley again opting for a further rate rise. The majority, however, felt that a back-to-back hike in February to follow up January's increase might lead to 'excessive tightening'.The MPC also noted that it was 'difficult to judge whether, and if so by how much, policy might need to be further tightened to keep inflation on track to meet the target', as well as saying there had been little movement in pay deals.Although the minutes were not particularly dovish, they were 'not as hawkish as some might have hoped', said 4CAST senior currency analyst Chris Furness, adding that sterling had risen ahead of the release.'The minutes were really quite open, but they don't specifically say that there will be one more rate hike and they do say there has been little movement in wage deals,' he said.jessica.mortimer@thomson.comjkm/jagCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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Forex - Pound in focus ahead of BoE minutes, GDP data 