Breaking: UK CPI inflation ticks down to 3.4% YoY in May as expected
- The United Kingdom's annual CPI advanced 3.4% in May vs. 3.4% estimate.
- British inflation dropped to 0.2% MoM in May vs. a 0.2% forecast.
- GBP/USD keeps range near 1.3450 after UK CPI inflation data.
The United Kingdom (UK) annual headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 3.4% in May after rising 3.5% in April, the data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Wednesday.
Markets expected a 3.4% growth in the reported period. The reading still remains distant from the Bank of England’s (BoE) 2% target.
The core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy items) climbed 3.5% year-over-year (YoY) in the same period, compared to a 3.8% acceleration in April while missing the anticipated 3.6% figure.
Services inflation declined to 4.7% YoY in May from April's 5.4%.
Meanwhile, the monthly UK CPI inflation eased notably to 0.2% in May from 1.2% in April, coming in line with the estimates.
GBP/USD reaction to the UK CPI inflation data
The UK CPI data offers a slight lift to the Pound Sterling, driving GBP/USD briefly above 1.3450. The pair is up 0.15% higher on the day at 1.3458, as of writing.
British Pound PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.21% | -0.24% | -0.16% | -0.05% | -0.31% | -0.26% | -0.01% | |
| EUR | 0.21% | -0.02% | 0.00% | 0.07% | -0.20% | 0.02% | 0.21% | |
| GBP | 0.24% | 0.02% | 0.04% | 0.09% | -0.18% | -0.09% | 0.25% | |
| JPY | 0.16% | 0.00% | -0.04% | 0.15% | -0.12% | 0.14% | 0.41% | |
| CAD | 0.05% | -0.07% | -0.09% | -0.15% | -0.25% | -0.19% | 0.15% | |
| AUD | 0.31% | 0.20% | 0.18% | 0.12% | 0.25% | 0.22% | 0.43% | |
| NZD | 0.26% | -0.02% | 0.09% | -0.14% | 0.19% | -0.22% | 0.21% | |
| CHF | 0.00% | -0.21% | -0.25% | -0.41% | -0.15% | -0.43% | -0.21% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
