BoE Carney Boosts GBP With Closer Rate Hike Comments

The pound erased its early losses against its major opponents on Thursday, after the Bank of England governor Mark Carney said that it is nearing the point at which interest rates will begin to normalise, as economic outlook has improved a lot.

“With many of the conditions for the economy to normalize now met, the point at which interest rates also begin to normalize is getting closer,” Carney said in a speech at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries General Insurance Conference , Wales .

The bank has no pre-set course and the timing would depend on the data, he told.

“Moreover, the precise timing of the first rate rise is less important than our expectation that, when rates do begin to rise, those increases are likely to be gradual and limited,” Carney added.

The pound recovered to 1.6331 against the greenback, from early 1-week low of 1.6275.

The pound rose back to 1.5507 against the franc, setting a 3-1/2-year high.

The UK currency re-approached the 178.30 level against the yen. The pound is thus heading to violate its early 2-day high of 178.48.

The pound extended rally to more than a 2-year high of 0.7786 versus the euro, up from yesterday’s close of 0.7820. This may be compared to an early low of 0.7829.

via Kitco

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.