The British pound collapsed after the decision of the Bank of England to raise the key interest rate for the first time since 2007.
Such a market reaction might be directly related to the fact that in the BoE's statement, the central bank said that it only plans to increase the rate until the beginning of 2020. Furthermore, many major players closed their positions after the pound was growing throughout the week, which eventually led to a sharp decline even against the background of higher interest rates.
On Thursday morning, data was released, which only managed to slightly support the British pound.
According to a report from the company Markit, the index of supply managers for the construction sector in October of this year has increased to 50.8 points from 48.1 points in September, returning to a level above 50. The company said that the growth in housing construction had offset a decline in the construction of infrastructure objects.
The Bank of England raised the key interest rate to 0.5% from 0.25%, but signaled that by the end of 2020 the rate is likely to be raised only twice. According to the analysts of the bank, inflation will approach the target level of 2% only by 2020. The Bank of England also lowered their forecast for GDP growth in 2018 to 1.7% against the August forecast of 1.8%.
As expected, the central bank's comments were tied to Brexit, which has a significant impact on the British economy, and also intensifies a sharp slowdown in potential economic growth. The Bank of England is seriously concerned about the reaction of households and companies to Brexit, which is an important risk for economic prospects.
The British pound collapsed from its morning highs around 1.3300 to the support of 1.3100. In the near future, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney's outlined plan can change the alignment of forces in the market.
The euro rose during the first half of the day after the release of data, which showed that the number of unemployed in Germany in October had decreased. According to the report of the Ministry of Labor, the number of unemployed in October of this year has declined by 11,000, while economists expected a reduction of only 10,000. The unemployment rate in October was at 5.6%.
