Britain’s pound traded above $1.31 today, close to a 10-month high, as investors eyed this week’s Bank of England “Super Thursday” for a steer on whether record-low interest rates could soon be lifted for the first time in more than a decade.
Sterling has been supported in recent weeks by expectations that the Bank might finally be getting ready for a hike after a series of hawkish comments from policymakers, but Governor Mark Carney and most of his top officials seem set to remain in wait-and-see mode for now.
Data showing Britain’s housing market and consumer economy lost a small amount of momentum last month as mortgage approvals dropped to a nine-month low and unsecured lending growth slowed further had little impact on the currency.
Some investors see hawkish comments from policymakers at the Bank as little more than attempts to talk up a currency that has lost almost 15 percent against both the euro and dollar since last June’s vote for Brexit.
Tuesday, we have the UK manufacturing data, with construction data on Wednesday and Services data on Thursday before the BOE rate decision, asset purchases and Inflation report.