UK Slashes Interest Rates By 1.5% - What Effect Will This Have On The GBP
UK Slashes Interest Rates By 1.5% - What Effect Will This Have On The GBP
For several months now I've been thinking that the only way we could avert a full-on recession here in the UK is by cutting interest rates to a manageable level such as 2.0 or 2.5% and today the Bank of England finally look as if they are getting their act together and have decided to take action.
They slashed the base rate from 4.5% to 3.0%, which should hopefully help troubled mortgage holders, that is of course providing that the banks actually pass these rates on to their customers.
I actually thought they would cut interest rates in small increments over several months, but fair play to them for identifying the severity of the situation. I think for once they've made the right decision, although there is of course no guarantee that this will have a positive impact on the overall economy.
The big surprise to me is that the GBP/USD hasn't seen a huge fall in the last few hours. When I heard the announcement at 12.00 I thought we were sure to see a large drop and possibly retest the 1.50 level, but after initially spiking down towards 1.57, it's now back up and consolidating around the 1.59 level, which is a mystery to me.
Longer term I still think the GBP is looking weak and wouldn't be at all surprised if the GBP/USD falls to at least 1.50 in the coming weeks.
0 comments:
Post a Comment