The pound erased its early morning gains against other major currencies in early European deals on Wednesday following the release of the minutes from Bank of England's latest monetary policy meeting.
As seen in the prior four meetings, King, Paul Fisher and David Miles sought an increase in quantitative easing by GBP 25 billion, while other 6 members of the committee voted to retain it at GBP 375 billion, the minutes showed today.
At the same time, the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee unanimously decided to maintain the record low 0.50 percent interest rate.
"For most members, the current policy setting was appropriate at this time," the minutes showed.
The pound came under pressure as the minutes failed to caution about high inflation rates that remain well-above the Bank of England's comfort zone of 2 percent.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed yesterday that the rate of inflation rose to 2.7 percent in May from 2.4 percent in April. Economists had expected the rate to rise to 2.6 percent.
On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.2 percent, the same pace as in the previous month. Economists had forecast the index to rise 0.1 percent.
The pound was trading at 0.8575 against the euro around 5:30 am ET, down by more than 0.2 percent from a high of 0.8549 hit at 4:05 am ET. The next probable support level for the pound is seen around 0.864.
Pulling away from an early high of 1.5668 against the greenback, the pound fell as low as 1.5605 after the BoE minutes. Further downside risks may lead the pound breaking yesterday's weekly low of 1.5564.
Reversing from an early high of 149.50 against the yen, the pound depreciated almost 0.8 percent to a 2-day low of 148.27 around 5:00 am ET. On the downside, the pound may challenge support around the 147.00 level.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said today that financial markets may gradually regain stability, reflecting the steady improvement in Japanese economic activity.
"Given that Japan's economy is on a steady path toward recovery, however, they are expected to gradually regain stability, reflecting positive momentum in economic activity," he said during a semiannual hearing on monetary policy in Parliament.
The pound fell to 1.4364 against the Swiss franc around 5:25 am ET, almost a 0.3 percent depreciation from previous high of 1.4404. If sterling's bearish run continues, the pound may break Tuesday's multi-day low of 1.4338.
Looking ahead, the Federal Open Market Committee rate decision is due at 2:00 pm ET. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold rates at 0.25 percent.
The Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a press conference after the meeting.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.