British pound under pressure before BoE decision
U.K. rate cut seen increasingly likely
By
Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
Last update: 5:29 a.m. EST Dec. 5, 2007
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The British pound dropped sharply on Wednesday, as traders bet that the Bank of England will follow in the Bank of Canada's footsteps and cut its base interest rate tomorrow.
The increasingly dovish stance in currency markets comes after measures released Wednesday showed declines in house prices, services-sector sentiment and consumer confidence.
Halifax said house prices in the U.K. fell 1.1%, NTC Research said services-sector sentiment during November was its worst since May 2003, and the Nationwide Building Society said U.K. consumer confidence fell the most since it started keeping track in 2004.
"Uncertainty about the effects of the credit crunch together with rising oil and food prices seem to be affecting feelings about jobs and the future economic situation," said Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist.
The pound dropped to $2.0365 from $2.0584 late Tuesday. The pound fell as low as 1.3822 euros, its lowest level ever against its main trading partner.
The European Central Bank, which also decides interest rates on Thursday, isn't facing the same pressure to cut interest rates, with euro-zone inflation running at 3%.
The euro fell 0.3% at $1.4722. The dollar also rose 0.3% against the yen, up 0.3% at 110.19 yen.
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