The spotlight today is on the BoE. In August, the MPC kept interest rates unchanged at 0.25% but two members of the committee – McCafferty and Saunders – voted for an immediate hike in interest rates.
Developments in the economic outlook since that meeting have been limited and while political uncertainty has risen, on balance, we suspect that both Saunders and McCafferty will retain their calls for an immediate policy tightening.
Some focus will be on new member Ramsden, although it’s likely he will vote with the majority.
The USD, along with US yields have held onto recent gains ahead of today’s inflation data today and retail sales tomorrow.
The U.S. core consumer price index is expected to have risen 1.6 percent on an annual basis in August, which would be the lowest since early 2015, versus 1.7 percent in July.
The Fed has a 2 percent inflation target, and a series of subdued price readings have dampened expectations for the Fed to raise interest rates again this year and weighed on the dollar.