- John Cridland, CBI director-general
For some time markets calmed down and lowered their expectations for a sooner-than-expected rate hike from the BoE. The main reason for a cool down was Mark Carney's pledge, who was constantly reiterating the fact policymakers are trying to eliminate the remaining slack in the economy, before considering a rate hike.
A constant inflow of the upbeat fundamental data, and increasing concerns about the inflating housing bubble, forced the CBI to make a bold statement. According to the Confederation of British Industry, the central bank can make the first revision of its monetary policy in the first three months of 2015, right before the general election. Earlier they expected tightening of the monetary policy in the third quarter. The latest statement echoes with economists' opinion, who believe Carney will confirm interest rises later this week during the Inflation Report. Earlier this month the CBI has upgraded its GDP outlook for 3% for this year and 2.7% for 2015. While the outlook is getting brighter, the CBI claimed for policymakers to focus on reforming public services, by boosting the supply of new homes in the market, and as a result reducing the deficit.
The cable moved higher 0.15% versus the buck on Monday, hitting 1.6868. Moreover, the pair is likely to climb further over the week, given the potential outcome of the U.K. labour data as well as Inflation Report from the central bank.
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