Wednesday during early deals, the British pound climbed to a new multi-month high against the US dollar after the release of the Bank of England minutes, which showed that the members voted unanimously to hold the key interest rate at a record low of 0.5%.
Minutes of the meeting held on May 6 and 7 revealed that all the nine members of the MPC stood united while deciding to raise the size of asset purchase plan by a GBP 50 billion to a total of GBP 125 billion. The central bank should seek to complete the GBP 125 billion of purchases within the next three months, the minutes showed.
UK's sterling rose to a new multi-month high of 1.5531 against the US dollar by about 4:40 am ET Wednesday. If the UK currency rises further, 1.561 is seen as the next likely target level. At yesterday's New York session close, the pair was quoted at 1.5480.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes of its April 29th meeting at 2 pm ET. At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its weekly oil inventory report for the week ended May 15th. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser is scheduled to speak to the New York Money Marketeers at 7 pm ET both on Wednesday and Thursday.
Against its Japanese counterpart, the British pound rebounded to 149.17 by 4:05 am ET, after having hit as low as 147.63 by 1:55 am ET. The pound-yen pair closed yesterday's deals at 148.57.
On the economic front, the cabinet office said that the Japanese economy shrank by a record pace. Japan's gross domestic product contracted by a record 4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the previous three months. That was still better than forecasts for a 4.4 percent decline after the revised 3.8 percent quarterly decline in Q4 of 2008. On an annualized basis, GDP was down 15.2 percent, beating expectations for a 16.1 percent fall after the revised 14.4 percent contraction in the previous three months.
Against its European counterpart, the UK currency gave back Wednesday's Asian session gains. The pound hit as low as 0.8813 against the euro by 4:30 am ET, compared to 0.8811 hit late Tuesday in New York. If the pound drops further, 0.889 is seen as the next likely target level.
A report by the German Federal Statistical Office said the number of employed persons increased 0.1% in the first quarter, slower than a 1% rise in the fourth quarter. The number of employed totaled 39.9 million in the first quarter, falling below 40 million for the first time in three quarters, the statistical office said. Against its Swiss counterpart, the pound climbed during today's early trading. The pound hit as high as 1.7231 against the franc, compared to yesterday's closing value of 1.7175. On the upside, the next likely target for the pair is seen around the 1.727 level.
Results of the latest financial market test carried out by the Center for European Economic Research or ZEW in cooperation with Credit Suisse revealed that the Swiss economic expectations index jumped to minus 3.9 in May from minus 27.7 recorded in April.
The ZEW said in a report that the indicator measuring the current economic situation in Switzerland declined 2.6 points to minus 66. Further, the gauge for inflation expectations climbed 35.6 points to minus 7.9.
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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.