The British pound sterling in pair with the US dollar went down to five-week minimums. The current quote in GBPUSD is 1.3507. It is all about the results of the November meeting of the Bank of England. Capital markets had expected the interest rate to rise by 15 basis points, but it remained at 0.10% per annum. In subsequent comments, the BoE chief stated that it is not the regulator’s responsibility to meet market expectations.

For keeping the rate, they voted by a majority of votes – 7 to 2. Asset purchases remained at the level of 875 billion pounds, purchases of corporate bonds will amount to the standard 20 billion. Six members of the monetary committee voted to keep the asset repurchase program unchanged, while three voted against it.

The central bank believes that the current monetary rate is consistent with the situation. In the coming months, according to the regulator, it will be necessary to raise the rate to bring inflation back to the 2% target. The consumer price index is expected to be substantially below 2% at the end of the forecast period, and perhaps even further. Unemployment should not grow in the short term, but there are some doubts about this.

Otherwise, the Bank of England was in solidarity with the world central banks: the UK economy, like the rest, is facing problems as it emerges from the pandemic, and so far no one knows how to solve them quickly.