The Bank of England decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 0.1%. The volume of the asset-purchasing program also remained the same at 895 billion pounds sterling. Such a decision was quite predictable, but traders have noticed reasons for concerns, thus putting pressure on the pound sterling.
The central bank said that prospects for the economic recovery remained unclear. Economists continue monitoring the situation. If the forecast becomes worse, the regulator may take additional measures, including expansion of the asset-purchasing program.
The BoE also emphasizes that it is not planning to switch to a tighter policy, unless there is a significant progress in the economic recovery and inflation reaches the 2% target.
In the UK, the vaccination program is in full swing. That is why the UK economy may revive sooner than other economies. The vaccination roll-out and a decline in the number of infected people are the main reasons for a strong pound sterling. However, the recent news about the AstraZeneca side effects have curbed the rally. The British pound slumped to the lowest level against the euro for the first time since March 5. The fact is that a list of European countries refused to use the AstraZeneca vaccine because of its side effects.
Today, during the American trading session, the pound sterling dropped against the US dollar amid a conservative policy of the Bank of England. Moreover, rising yields on the US treasury bonds also led to a drop in the pound sterling.
Just in one moment, the pound/dollar pair tumbled to 1.3900, but did not break it. However, it touched the support level of 1.3920. Nevertheless, the bullish trend is quite possible. In the next 24 hours, the pair is likely to trade between 1.3860 and 1.4000.
If traders' sentiment remains the same, buyers may push the pair above 1.40. If the price downwardly breaks the level of 1.3920, it may slide to 1.3750.