LONDON: The British pound had a volatile trading session on Thursday, ticking up marginally against the dollar and rising against the euro as markets digested news the ECB is getting ready for a series of rate hikes.
However, Britain’s gloomy economic outlook and political worries continued to dominate traders’ priority lists.
By 1440 GMT the pound was up a marginal 0.03% against the dollar at $1.25390, rising from earlier trading when it was down as much as 0.32%.
Tracking a volatile euro, sterling swung wildly against the single currency in early afternoon. By 1447 GMT it was 0.48% higher at 85.220 pence, but earlier in the afternoon had been trading as much as 0.47% down.
“The main event for the FX market today was the ECB meeting that has pushed EUR lower across the board and weighed on EUR/GBP as a result,” said Valentin Marinov, head of G10 FX research at Credit Agricole.
The European Central Bank ended a long-running stimulus scheme on Thursday and signalled it would deliver its first interest rate hike since 2011 next month, followed by a potentially larger move in September if inflation does not cool down.
Helping buoy the pound against the dollar was British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of a package of new measures to help a worsening cost-of-living crunch for households. It was his first policy speech since Monday’s vote of confidence when 41% of his own lawmakers voted against him.
But uncertainty over the longevity of his position and what that means for future fiscal policy and post-Brexit arrangements covering trade with Northern Ireland are weighing on sterling.
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