The Great Britain pound rose today as positive economic data supported the outlook for stable economic growth, while the central bank kept monetary policy unchanged. The sterling weakened against the euro, which was supported by the monetary policy statement of the European Central Bank.
The Bank of England announced today:
The Bank of Englandâs Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain Bank Rate at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £375 billion.
Recent economic reports led to speculations that the central bank may raise interest rates rather soon. Today’s data supported such view as the Halifax House Price Index rose 2.4 percent in February, beating expectations. Stephen Noakes, Mortgages Director, commented:
Several factors appear to have boosted demand, such as the improved economic outlook, unemployment falling faster than expected, improvements in consumer confidence and low interest rates.
GBP/USD advanced from 1.6719 to 1.6765 and GBP/JPY edged up from 171.02 to 172.61 as of 17:46 GMT today. EUR/GBP climbed from 0.8211 to 0.8265.
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