The pound edged up against both the euro and US dollar, boosted by the continuing progress in the UK's vaccination program and news that the BoE governor expressed cautious optimism over the economic recovery. Andrew Bailey said yesterday that he did not foresee a surge in inflation once the economy gets back on track; not all analysts share Governor Bailey's opinion, with the Bank of England's chief economist noting the possibility of inflation risk. Moreover, at least 22 million Britons have now received their first dose of the vaccine for COVID-19; that has given hope to market players who expect that the country should be well-placed to return from the largest economic contraction in three centuries.
As of 11:09 am in London, the EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8578 pence, a gain of 0.1004%; the pair has ranged from a trough of 0.85555 pence to a peak of 0.85870 pence. The GBP/USD was higher at $1.3876, up 0.4175%, off the session peak of $1.39005, while the low was recorded at $1.38014. The GBP/JPY was higher at 150.8580 yen, up 0.2312%, off the session high of 151.249 yen.
Markets to Focus on Key Data
Earlier today, Eurostat reported on 4th quarter seasonally adjusted GDP figures for the Eurozone. The report was better than expected on a year-on-year basis at -4.9%, while analysts had expected the figure to be unchanged at -5%. The quarter-on-quarter basis figures fared less well with a reading of -0.7% against an expected -0.6%. With a light day on the economic calendar, market players can focus on tomorrow's inflation data for the US. Analysts are predicting that the Core CPI will hit 0.2% in February on a month-on-month basis, and remain flat at 1.4% on a year-on-year basis. The EUR/USD was trading higher at $1.1907, a gain of 0.4997%; the pair has ranged from $1.18351 to $1.19102 in today's session.