The Pound Sterling (GBP) extends its losing streak against the US Dollar (USD) for the fourth trading day on Thursday. The GBP/USD pair posts a fresh almost four-week low at around 1.3470 during European trading hours after Bank of England (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Catherine Mann praised soft United Kingdom (UK) Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for January.
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 Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.03% | 0.24% | -0.12% | -0.05% | -0.04% | -0.06% | 0.13% | |
| EUR | -0.03% | 0.21% | -0.16% | -0.10% | -0.06% | -0.09% | 0.11% | |
| GBP | -0.24% | -0.21% | -0.37% | -0.29% | -0.27% | -0.30% | -0.11% | |
| JPY | 0.12% | 0.16% | 0.37% | 0.06% | 0.08% | 0.03% | 0.24% | |
| CAD | 0.05% | 0.10% | 0.29% | -0.06% | 0.02% | -0.02% | 0.18% | |
| AUD | 0.04% | 0.06% | 0.27% | -0.08% | -0.02% | -0.03% | 0.17% | |
| NZD | 0.06% | 0.09% | 0.30% | -0.03% | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.19% | |
| CHF | -0.13% | -0.11% | 0.11% | -0.24% | -0.18% | -0.17% | -0.19% |
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).
“January’s inflation figures are good from a headline perspective and also from core,” Mann said, and added, “With respect to core inflation, not quite as good as we had hoped to see.”
BoE Mann’s comments have resulted in a sharp decline in the Pound Sterling, who has been an outspoken hawk, assuming that they are expected to strengthen dovish speculation for the monetary policy outlook.
In the policy meeting earlier this month, the BoE left interest rates unchanged at 3.75%, with a 5-4 vote split, and indicated that the monetary policy will remain on a “gradual downward path”. Catherine Mann was one of five MPC members who supported a hold.
In addition to praising inflation figures, BoE’s Mann has expressed concerns over the rising UK Unemployment Rate. “The Unemployment Rate has gone up, and that’s very much of a concern,” Mann said. In three months ending December, the jobless rate arrived at 5.2%, the highest level seen in five years.
Going forward, major triggers for the British currency will be UK Retail Sales data for January and the flash S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for February, which will be published on Friday.
Meanwhile, a firm US Dollar (USD) is also weighing on the GBP/USD pair. As of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, posts a fresh 10-day high near 97.80. The US Dollar trades firmly as Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes of the January policy meeting showed on Wednesday that policymakers see no hurry for interest rate cuts.
