The Pound Sterling remains near to 2020 lows as FX traders ponder the possible outcomes of the UK-EU trade relationship once the transition period has expired. Earlier today, the release of a mixed bag of data from the UK, which included a flat reading of the preliminary 4th quarter GDP numbers, helped to push the GBP/USD pair higher in London trading. Quarterly GBP was reported at 0%, as expected, though the previous period had an upward adjustment to 0.5% from 0.4%; annualized GDP was better than expected at 1.1%, but down from the previous 1.2% reading. Industrial and manufacturing production for the month of December were both worse than analysts had predicted, at 0.1% and 0.3% against an expected 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.
The GBP/USD was higher as of 10:47 am in London, trading at $1.2921, a gain of 0.309% and off the earlier peak of $1.29446 while the low was at $1.28942. The EUR/GBP was lower at 0.8449 Pence, a loss of 0.5286%; the pair ranged from 0.84312 Pence to 0.84593 Pence in today’s session.
Markets had been uncertain as to how the data might shift sentiment among the voting members of the Bank of England. It is likely that today’s mixed bag of data will fail to provide any clarity. At the most recent BoE meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee hinted that they were looking for more clarity as regards growth before they consider adding more stimulus. Mark Carney, the head of the BoE, is due to speak later today at Parliament and could shed some light on the central bank’s thinking.