GBP/USD: BoE Offers Gloomy Outlook For 2013

GBP/USD: BoE Offers Gloomy Outlook For 2013

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, GBP ended marginally higher against the USD and closed at 1.6251, after minutes of the Bank of England (BoE) indicated that the UK policymakers unanimously decided to hold the key interest rate at 0.50%. According to the minutes, policymakers voted 8-1 to leave the stimulus program unchanged at £375 billion. Additionally, the BoE policymakers stated that the UK economy is likely to remain stagnant in the near term but inflation will probably exceed 2% in the next year and also faces further risks from higher food prices.

Meanwhile on the economic front, the CBI distributive trades survey realized declined to 19.0 in December, from 33.0 in November.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.6259, with the GBP trading marginally higher from yesterday’s close.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.6230, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.6200. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.6298, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.6336.