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Today Bank of England (BOE) will announce monetary policy decisions at 11:00 GMT.
No change in policy is expected today and the event may turn out as non-impacting one, as policy decisions at BOE are usually not followed by any press conference.
What concern policymakers at BOE?
- UK is growing, latest GDP reading was better than expected. Economy grew 3% in fourth quarter from a year ago and 0.6% q/q. However, inflation continue to be a concern, as BOE has so far not fulfilled its price stability mandate. Retail shop prices as measured by BRC kept falling for almost two years, even before oil price was falling.
- Strength of pound remains top concern of policymakers as it is deteriorating trade balance of UK with rest of the world and especially against Euro zone. Pound in last one year strengthen 12% against Euro and 4.5% against yen. Stronger pound is deterring manufacturing sector comeback.
- Austerity policies are being pursued by UK government to balance the budget and reducing deficit. A prudent policy asks for monetary conditions to remain loose to tackle fiscal tightening and twin deficit.
No change is expected today, however tweaking policy statement BOE might signal future moves. Pound is currently trading at 1.477 against dollar.
