Sterling lower on Bank of England decision

Sterling weakened on Thursday after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to leave interest rates in the UK on hold at 5.25 percent for at least another month. Also hurting the UK currency was new data that showed industrial production in the UK was down by 0.6 percent in February. A gain of 0.2 percent had been expected.

The pound dropped 0.3 percent to $1.9710 in relation to the US dollar, while it fell by 0.7 percent to £0.6810 versus the euro.

The greenback was weaker as well, ahead of new employment data due on Friday. Some analysts expect that weak jobs data could put pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The dollar was slightly lower against the yen to ¥118.65, while it fell 0.4 percent to $1.3426 in relation to the euro.

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