BoE Minutes & UK unemployment data

The Pound has fallen this morning following the release of Bank of England Minutes and UK employment data. The Pound now trades back below 1.14 against the Euro and below 1.64 against the US Dollar.

The Bank of England Minutes revealed that all nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5%, previously two members Martin Weale and Spencer Dale had called for a 0.25% rate hike. Adam Posen continued to be the only member who voted for an expansion of the Bank’s Asset Purchase Programme known as Quantitative Easing. Whilst Quantitative Easing remains at £200bn, some members of the MPC did consider the case for more Quantitative Easing. This softening in the Bank of England’s stance has weighed on Sterling.

Whilst data from the Office for National Statistics showed an increase in the claimant count and an increase in the UK unemployment rate from 7.7% to 7.9% further undermining confidence in the UK economy and Sterling.