GBP/USD: BOE Monetary Policy Report

The British Pound appreciated against the US Dollar, following the BOE Monetary Policy Report data release on Thursday. Note that the surge happened one minute before the official release at 12:00 GMT. The GBP/USD exchange currency rate gained 49 pips or 0.38%. The Pound continued trading at the 1.3080 level against the Greenback after the release.

Note that in December the Bank of England faced criticism over a security breach. The Bank's internal audio systems had been expropriated. Thus, hedge funds were able to get aware of the British policymakers' decisions before the official release. 

The Bank of England published the Official Bank Rate data which came out in line with the expectations of 0.75%. According to the official release: "the Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 7-2 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.75%. The Committee voted unanimously to maintain the stock of sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £10 billion. The Committee also voted unanimously to maintain the stock of UK government bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £435 billion."