BLBG: Pound Rises Versus Dollar After Bank of England Voted 8-1 to Hold Rates
The pound jumped after the Bank of England’s meeting minutes showed policy maker Andrew Sentance wanted an immediate interest-rate increase, while none of his colleagues voted to step up bond purchases.
Gilts pared gains, with the two-year note yield holding close to its record low. The minutes of the Aug. 5 Monetary Policy Committee meeting showed policy makers considered arguments for expanding and withdrawing emergency stimulus this month before overruling Sentance’s third call for rates to be raised from a record low. The pound rose against 15 of its 16 most active peers after falling against all of them earlier.
“The minutes were not as dovish as some in the market had expected,” said Ian Stannard, a currency strategist at BNP Paribas SA in London. “Some people thought there was a vote in favor of further quantitative easing, but that hasn’t been the case.”
The pound rose 0.4 percent to $1.5646 as of 10:45 a.m. in London after falling to $1.5499 earlier, the lowest since July 27. Sterling rose 0.2 percent against the euro to 82.51 pence.
U.K. 10-year gilt yields fell one basis point to 3.06 percent. The 4.75 percent securities due March 2020 rose 0.08, or 80 pence per 1,000-pound ($1,546) face amount, to 113.93. Two-year yields fell one basis point to 0.69 percent. They declined to 0.673 percent on Aug. 16.
“The committee considered arguments in favor of a further easing” and “there were also arguments in favor of a small increase in bank rate,” according to minutes of the Aug. 5 decision released by the Bank of England today in London. “The weight of evidence continued to suggest that the margin of spare capacity was likely to bear down on inflation.”
The committee voted 8-1 to keep the benchmark rate at 0.5 percent and their bond-purchase plan at 200 billion pounds. Sentance pushed for an increase in the rate to 0.75 percent on concerns that inflation expectations may become dislodged.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anchalee Worrachate in London at aworrachate@bloomberg.net;