The British Pound went down at the conclusion of last week due to a lack of UK economic data, leaving the currency rudderless. In fact, without any basic drivers, Sterling fluctuated widely and lost ground to its competitors. Looking ahead, the British Pound begins the new week under pressure as investors expect the Bank of England to lower borrowing costs as early as June, citing indicators that inflation is slowing.
The Euro continues to fall as pressure mounts on the ECB to lower high interest rates as economic growth remains anaemic and inflation falls closer to target. However, Thursday’s ECB monetary policy meeting is virtually certainly going to end with no change in interest rates. Nonetheless, senior governing council members have expressed a preference for June as the ideal meeting to begin a controlled rate-cutting cycle.
The US dollar rose on Friday and held steady in early European trade this morning, as a strong nonfarm payrolls report caused investors to drastically reduce their expectations that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in June. Looking ahead, March inflation data and the Fed’s March meeting minutes are both due on Wednesday. Both are anticipated to provide additional clues after a wave of officials warned that the bank was not in a hurry to cut rates.
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