|

BoE's Dhingra: Shocks driving UK’s high inflation will fade

In an op-ed published in The Times, Bank of England (BoE) policymaker Swati Dhingra argued that shocks driving the UK's high inflation will fade and that they should not be overly cautious about cutting interest rates.

Dhingra further added that the UK is not suffering from more food inflation than it's peers and noted that earnings play a smaller role in the services' Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Market reaction

These comments received a dovish score of 2.0 from FXStreet BoE Speech Tracker. Nevertheless, GBP/USD clings to daily recovery gains near 1.3400 in the Americn session.

BoE FAQs

The Bank of England (BoE) decides monetary policy for the United Kingdom. Its primary goal is to achieve ‘price stability’, or a steady inflation rate of 2%. Its tool for achieving this is via the adjustment of base lending rates. The BoE sets the rate at which it lends to commercial banks and banks lend to each other, determining the level of interest rates in the economy overall. This also impacts the value of the Pound Sterling (GBP).

When inflation is above the Bank of England’s target it responds by raising interest rates, making it more expensive for people and businesses to access credit. This is positive for the Pound Sterling because higher interest rates make the UK a more attractive place for global investors to park their money. When inflation falls below target, it is a sign economic growth is slowing, and the BoE will consider lowering interest rates to cheapen credit in the hope businesses will borrow to invest in growth-generating projects – a negative for the Pound Sterling.

In extreme situations, the Bank of England can enact a policy called Quantitative Easing (QE). QE is the process by which the BoE substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. QE is a last resort policy when lowering interest rates will not achieve the necessary result. The process of QE involves the BoE printing money to buy assets – usually government or AAA-rated corporate bonds – from banks and other financial institutions. QE usually results in a weaker Pound Sterling.

Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse of QE, enacted when the economy is strengthening and inflation starts rising. Whilst in QE the Bank of England (BoE) purchases government and corporate bonds from financial institutions to encourage them to lend; in QT, the BoE stops buying more bonds, and stops reinvesting the principal maturing on the bonds it already holds. It is usually positive for the Pound Sterling.

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

More from Eren Sengezer
Share:

Editor's Picks

AUD/USD shows resilience below 38.2% Fibo. near mid-0.7100s

The AUD/USD pair touches a one-and-a-half-week low, around the 0.7140 region during the Asian session on Monday, though it lacks follow-through. Spot prices currently trade just above mid-0.7100s, down nearly 0.25% for the day.


USD/JPY: Japanese Yen edges lower vs USD amid Middle East jitters as Fed, BoJ meetings loom

The USD/JPY pair attracts some buyers at the start of a new week and climbs closer to the 154.00 mark during the Asian session, reversing a part of Friday's losses. Spot prices, however, remain confined in a range held over the past week or so and within striking distance of a nearly seven-month low, touched last Tuesday, as traders await this week's key central bank events.


Gold: Fed’s rate decision to drive the next move
Gold reflects a subdued performance at the start of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy week at around $4,330. Fed’s interest rate expectations heavily influenced last week after the release of the hot United States (US) Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) reports for August.
Pi Network extends gains as ecosystem development supports recovery

Pi Network (PI) extends its recovery on Monday, trading above $0.097 after two consecutive weeks of gains. Continued ecosystem development and improved developer tools are boosting utility. Meanwhile, the technical indicators point to a tentative recovery, but overhead Exponential Moving Averages remain a challenge and cap PI gains.

US Dollar Weekly Forecast: The last line of defense

There was no respite to the downward trend for the US Dollar this week, which added to the prior week’s retracement and at some point flirted with the area of four-month lows. Indeed, after trading at levels just shy of its psychological 100.00 barrier early in the month, the US Dollar Index has come all the way down to challenge the 98.50 zone, extending its negative streak for the third month in a row.

Venezuela’s 65-billion-barrel Oil deal could reshape America’s inflation fight
The United States (US) has secured unprecedented access to part of Venezuela’s vast Oil reserves. The timing is particularly significant as the war with Iran is disrupting Middle Eastern supplies, keeping energy prices elevated and reviving concerns about inflation.