As BoE gears up for its monetary policy decision today, market observers find themselves divided on the scale of the expected rate hike. This indecision comes in the wake of a consumer inflation report released yesterday that muddied the waters. Headline CPI for May remained static at 8.7%, exceeding BoE's own forecasts, while core CPI climbed to 7.1%, reaching its highest level since 1992.
Sterling is surprisingly soft this week even though markets are raising bets on a more aggressive than expected BoE rate hike, after yesterday's UK CPI data. It's clearly weighed down in selloff against the stronger Euro. Swiss Franc is comparatively steady as SNB rate decision is also awaited. Overall, currency markets appear more attuned to a shift away from risk-on sentiment, evidenced by a notable decline in Australian and New Zealand Dollar. US Dollar and Japanese Yen, however, are displaying a mixed performance.
ZURICH, June 22 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank will
not refrain from increasing interest rates again despite their
effect on Swiss rents, Chairman Thomas Jordan said on Thursday
after the central bank raised its policy interest rate fo.