The Pound Sterling had eked out gains against the US Dollar and the Euro as FX traders sold off their holdings in the able amid continuing doubt over whether a transition deal can be brokered between the European Union and Britain. Analysts say that a deal would help clear a path for an interest rate hike later this year from the Bank of England. Earlier this year, investors had seen clearly hawkish signals coming from BoE officials, however the negotiations have cast doubt on sentiment and resulted in a softer Pound.
As reported at 10:50 am (GMT) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.3859, a gain of 0.10%; the pair has ranged from a session high of $1.3863 while the trough is at $1.3817. The EUR/GBP pair is trading at 0.89114 Pence, down 0.00249%; the pair earlier hit a session low of 0.89035 Pence while the peak is at 0.89300 Pence.
MPC Member Speech Eyed
Improved economic data did help to push the Pound higher on Monday; the Markit Service PMI for February came in with a reading of 54.5, well above the 53.3 expected and January’s 53.0 reading. UK housing data could help drive sentiment for the Pound later today. Also on the agenda is a speech from Andrew Haldane, the chief economist of the Bank of England and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. FX traders will scrutinize his speech to hopefully get a feeling for the Pound’s direction in the short term and the likelihood of a May rate hike by the BoE.