British Pound Likely On the “Last Leg” of Its Rally

The British pound has been on a fascinating and very bullish ride versus the U.S. dollar. On Thursday, the pound accentuated its action by perfectly tagging the lower part of its bullish channel directly above support at the 200-day moving average (DMA). (Click for larger view) Source: dailyfx.com charts (click for larger view) I redrew … Read more

The British Pound’s Momentum Now Faces Several Challenges

The British pound has gained a modest 3.5% since early June when I removed my long-standing bearishness on the currency. The momentum in the pound accelerated somewhat after last Wednesday’s release of the Bank of England’s minutes showed Andrew Sentance dissented from the rest of his fellow central bankers by calling for a rate hike. … Read more

High Inflation in the UK Worries the Bank of England

(This is a adapted repost from Inflation Watch) Bank of England (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee Member Adam Posen tells CNBC in an interview (see below or click here) that stubbornly high inflation is keeping the Bank of England members up at night. However, Posen prefers this situation to deflation (as all central bankers would). Slack … Read more

Bank of England Highlights Benefits of Currency Depreciation

The Bank of England (BoE) released its “Inflation Report” on November 11, 2009. This was my first time ever reviewing the report and watching BoE Governor Mervyn King in action as he coolly parried with reporters during the press conference covering the report. The latest Inflation Report frequently references the benefits of the depreciation of … Read more

The Bank of England Confirms Weakness in the UK’s Economy and the Benefits of A Weaker Currency

Yesterday, the Bank of England left its interest rate at 0.50% and increased its program of quantitative easing by £25 billion to a total of £200 billion. The British pound immediately rallied on the news against all major currencies – apparently, analysts already expected the increase and were afraid the BoE might actually increase quantitative … Read more

Disappointing Economic Data Send the Pound On A Roundtrip for the Week

The British pound has taken some sharp twists and turns since first hitting 4-month lows against the U.S. dollar on September 28. I have been steadfast in my bearishness against the pound since mid-September, but I have found it necessary to dance in and out of positions given the persistent decline in the dollar against … Read more

Governor King Steps Out of the Way of the Pound

Moments like these remind me how swiftly the tides can change in foreign exchange. The minutes from the Bank of England’s meeting in October showed that all members now support leaving quantitative easing at its current level of 175 billion pounds. This unified support marks a change in particular for Governor Mervyn King who earlier … Read more

Paul Fisher QE Commentary Sparks Relief Rally in the Pound

Small comments can spark big moves in the currency market. Yesterday afternoon, Chris Giles of the Financial Times posted a summary of his interview with the Bank of England’s head of markets and quantitative easing Paul Fisher. Fisher rejected the notion that the Bank of England has made a conscious effort to direct future exchange … Read more

No New News on Negative Rates from Bank of England’s Meeting Minutes

This morning, the Bank of England released its minutes from the September meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee. From my reading, it contained no new news on the prospects for negative interest rates. The “relief” from the minutes has so far lifted the pound against the euro, the U.S. dollar, and even the yen. I … Read more