LONDON (Reuters) – The pound edged up on Wednesday, after data showed UK consumer inflation rose faster than expected in January, weakening the case for the Bank of England to deliver another two rate cuts this year.
The Office for National Statistics said its consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 3% in January, above forecasts for a rise of 2.8%. Services inflation, something the BoE has flagged as an obstacle, rose at a rate of 5%, from 4.4% in December, but was below expectations for rise of 5.2%.
Sterling spiked after the numbers, but quickly fell back to where it was before the data. By 0718 GMT it was up 0.05% at $1.262.
Against the euro, the pound held steady at 82.86 pence, roughly where it was before the inflation report.
(Reporting by Lucy Raitano; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
