The Pound Sterling dipped and struck a 2-week low versus the US Dollar after the greenback got a boost from the Federal Reserve Bank chairwoman. Despite broad uncertainty of its 2% inflation target, Janet Yellen said yesterday that waiting for the target to be met would be “imprudent.†That helped to lift the greenback across the board which saw fresh multi-weekly highs in some pairs. Despite expectations that the Bank of England is likely to raise its benchmark rate in November, Brexit uncertainty continues to pressure the Pound which has lost more than 10% versus the greenback since the June 2016 vote.
As reported at 11:11 am (BST) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.3421, down 0.29%; the pair has ranged from a low of $1.3362 to a peak of $1.3462 in today’s trading session. The USD/JPY was trading at 112.831 Yen, a gain of 0.53%. The AUD/USD was down 0.49% and trading at $0.7848 while the NZD/USD was down 0.19% and trading at $0.7197.
Central Bank Policymakers Eyed
Central bankers are likely to set the tone for their respective currencies in the days ahead, beginning with a speech from the Bank of Canada’s Governor, Stephen Poloz, later today. Also later, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will be offering its monetary policy statement and outlook; currently, analysts expect the RBNZ will maintain its benchmark lending rate at the current 1.75%. The Bank of Japan’s Governor Kuroda and Mark Carney of the BoE will be talking tomorrow. The highlight of the week will be the ECB President Mario Draghi who will be speaking on Friday.
