Sterling Strength Gives Bank of England Rate-Setters a Headache

As the Bank of England moves closer to raising interest rates for the first time since 2007, the strength of sterling is causing disagreement among its policymakers over when to pull the trigger.

The BoE is due to make a slew of announcements on Thursday, among them its forecasts for inflation, which will give investors a better sense of how soon rates are likely to rise.

The pound hit its highest level in over seven years against the currencies of Britain’s main trading partners last month, bolstered by expectations of higher interest rates as the country’s economy recovers. This week, the bank will need to take a stand on how long the effect of strong sterling will last.

The BoE’s rate-setters must decide whether the effect of cheaper imports and reduced demand for British products abroad will last long enough to justify a cut to its forecast for inflation in two years’ time. Private-sector economists would usually interpret this as a sign that the bank is unlikely to raise interest rates in the coming months.

However, some policymakers might still want to tighten policy if other factors – such as the speed at which wages are rising, relative to a small recovery in productivity – point to underlying price pressures in the slightly longer term.

“At that point, the decision on what to do with interest rates becomes more complicated,” said Robert Wood, a former BoE forecaster who is an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

While the BoE typically ignores factors with a brief impact on inflation such as swings in oil and food prices, big currency moves are on the borderline between a short-term and a long-term factor.

British inflation is currently forecast to bounce back from zero to its target of 2 percent within two years. But if Thursday’s forecasts show this may take rather longer, the chances of a rate rise before early next year will fade.

Reuters

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.

Former Craig

Former Craig

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary. His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.