The downside risk to forecasts from the coronavirus outbreak is much bigger than for Brexit, Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey said while testifying before parliament on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters.
Regarding the possible usage of negative interest rates, “it’s in the box of tools but we are not planning to use it soon,” Bailey reiterated.
Additional takeaways
“Very important our framework is robust enough that we can go big and go fast.”
“Household spending now close to pre-pandemic levels but it is a pretty uneven picture.”
“Mortgage approval figures have been very strong.”
“Switch to online retail sales in the latest data raises the question of how much is a permanent structural change.”
“So far, recovery in consumption has been very fast but the story has been weak on investment.”
Market reaction
The GBP/USD pair extended its daily slide and was last seen losing 0.62% on a daily basis at 1.3296.
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