The pound was firmer against its major rivals on Monday, after the Bank of England decided to keep interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent, and traders now await the bank’s quarterly inflation report, due this week, for outlook on U.K. economy.
The rate has been at a historic low since March 2009.
The Monetary Policy Committee also retained the size of asset purchases at GBP 375 billion at the end of the two-day rate setting meeting.
The central bank is set to publish its latest quarterly inflation report, which will contain its economic projections, on May 13.
The bank is expected to raise rates by next year, as its forecast economic growth to accelerate and inflation to return to its 2 percent target in two years.
The pound was trading in a positive territory on Friday, as U.K.’s ruling party won majority seats in Parliamentary elections, being in power for a second term.
The pound remained at an 11-day high of 0.7200 against the euro, after having fallen to 0.7256 at 3:00 am ET. The next possible resistance for the pound may be found around the 0.71 zone. The pair was valued at 0.7254 at last week’s close.
Bouncing off from its early low of 1.5392 against the greenback, the pound climbed to 1.5500 during European trading. The pair was up by 2 percent last week, as the dollar has seen sell-off amid uncertainty over timing of Fed rate hike. On the upside, 1.56 is seen as next likely resistance level for the pound-greenback pair. At Friday’s close, the pair was quoted at 1.5436.
The pound climbed further to nearly 2-week high of 1.4444 against the Swiss currency, adding 0.82 percent from its early low of 1.4326. At Friday’s close, the pair was worth 1.4377. Continuation of the pound’s uptrend may see it finding resistance around the 1.46 mark.
The pound-yen pair was trading at 185.72, up from its European session’s decline of 184.56. The pair finished Friday’s trading at 184.83. The pound is seen finding resistance near the 186.00 level.
Looking ahead, U.S. labor market conditions index for April is due to be released in the New York session.
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