In August, the BoE said it was prepared to provide more monetary stimulus if necessary. Yet, the Bank decided not to change anything in its monetary policy.
The Australian dollar was also in upbeat mood. Yesterday’s meeting of the Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold at 2 percent (as widely expected) for the sixth month. The weakness in US fundamentals gave traders an excuse to buy the beaten down Aussie again.
A recovery in GBP/USD was set into reverse on Monday on further evidence that the UK economy is cooling. The services sector, the main cornerstone of the economy, weakened significantly in September.
GBP/USD was testing the lower range at 1.51 with upward breaks of any size being quickly sold down again. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England declined to offer any support to the Pound in his speech yesterday. Instead Mr Carney focused on the global economy and the impact of climate change.
GBP/USD was showing negative sentiment early on and began drifting to the downside. The pair dipped as low as 1.5127 reaching a five month low before staging a minor recovery rally.
Commodities opened the week on a bearish note. Crude oil futures tumbled one US dollar to $47. Copper and other industrial metals also resumed their persistent downwards trajectory.
The dollar index edged lower on Wednesday on mixed data. The greenback was weaker against the euro but made gains on the British pound, Canadian and Australian dollars.