ForexLive European FX news wrap: BOE keeps bank rate on hold

Headlines:

• BOE leaves bank rate unchanged at 5.25%, as expected
• BOE governor Bailey: We are not yet at a point to cut interest rates
• BOE Bailey Q&A: Each meeting is a new decision on rates
• The BoE makes another step towards a rate cut
• The little things add up on the BOE decision today
• Japan March leading indicator index 111.4 vs 112.1 prior
• China property developer Country Garden says it will delay bond payment

Markets:

• AUD leads, JPY lags on the day
• European equities mixed; S&P 500 futures down 0.1%
• US 10-year yields up 3.1 bps to 4.514%
• Gold up 0.3% to $2,315.99
• WTI crude up 0.7% to $79.57
• Bitcoin down 0.8% to $61,048

The BOE was the main highlight in European trading today and they more or less stuck to the status quo.

The central bank left the bank rate unchanged but offered up very, very minor dovish hints. However, all of which will still be conditional on inflation developments in the months ahead. So, essentially not much has changed on that.

The only thing to note is that Bailey did mention that June might be on the table and that they could end up cutting rates more than what markets are pricing in. But again, that all depends on the data moving forward mostly.

GBP/USD did fall from 1.2490 to 1.2450 initially but has recovered back to around 1.2470 currently.

Besides that, the dollar is keeping steadier in the major currencies space with little to work with. USD/JPY is up to near 156.00 while EUR/USD is down 0.2% to 1.0725 on the day. It comes as yields are a little higher on the day while US futures are looking more tepid ahead of North America trading later.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.