The Pound lost ground yesterday against both the Euro and the US Dollar in the currency markets after the Bank was accused of acting like an "unreliable boyfriend" in its hints over the timing of future interest rate rises by MP Pat McFadden in the latest Treasury select committee meeting with senior BoE officials.
The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney defended the BoE saying that the Bank's guidance had reinforced the economic recovery in the UK. Carney also confirmed that the timing of any rise in UK interest rates will be fluid and be "driven by the data".
McFadden said "We've had a lot of different signals. I mean it strikes me that the Bank's sort of behaving like an unreliable boyfriend. One day hot, one day cold, and the people on the other side of the message are left not really knowing where they stand."
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor Sir Charlie Bean, in his last testimony to the Treasury Select Committee said that he expected pay to start rising more quickly in the second half of this year.
Bean said "Although we are gradually moving towards the point at which it will be appropriate to begin normalising the stance of monetary policy, the exact date will necessarily depend on the evolution of the economy and productivity in particular".
The Euro benefited from the new pressure on the Pound in the foreign exchange market despite some worse than expected data out of Germany. In the latest German business confidence report published by the respected ‘think-tank’ IFO, the data showed that business confidence fell for a second month in a row in June.
The US Dollar strengthened in yesterday’s currency markets after data showed that US house prices were unchanged between March and April following an increase of 0.7% in February. In comparison with April 2013, US house prices advanced by 5.9% but are still 6.9% below its April 2007 peak.
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