LONDON (Reuters) – The pound held just shy of a two-month high against the dollar on Tuesday, and was little changed against the euro in fairly calm trading as markets looked to remarks from the Bank of England’s chief economist.
The pound was last at $1.2632, flat on the day, having touched $1.269, its highest since mid-December, the day before.
That rise and its retreat on Tuesday were largely in line with broad moves in the dollar, which has been weakening on soft U.S. data, but received a small safe haven boost on Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats. [FRX/]
Against the euro, the pound was a whisker softer at 82.94 pence,, with trading little moved by the German election and conservative winner Friedrich Merz’s bid to form a government.
Traders were keeping an eye on Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill, due to make closing remarks at a conference around 1400 GMT, for any policy insights.
Pill “sits on the hawkish side of the spectrum and any dovish comments can have a tangible impact on rate expectations”, said analysts at ING.
Markets are currently pricing two further 25 basis point rate cuts by the Bank of England.
Pill’s fellow policy maker, standout dove Swati Dhingra, on Monday challenged market interpretations that the BoE had signalled there would be one 25 basis point rate cut per quarter with its remarks that rate cuts would be “gradual”.
“I think everybody has a different definition. That’s not my definition, clearly,” she said.
The BoE cut rates by 25 basis points this month, though Dhingra voted for a 50 bp cut.
(Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
