DOVISH BANK OF ENGLAND SENDS THE POUND LOWER AS UK GROWTH OUTLOOK LOWERED

BOE SENDS STERLING LOWER

The British pound moved sharply lower against the U.S dollar and the euro, as the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged, and unexpectedly lowered the outlook for UK inflation and GDP.

The British pound fell towards the 1.3112 level against the U.S. dollar, after earlier reaching a new 2017 trading high, hitting 1.3268. The EURGBP cross pair also moved above the psychological 0.9000 level, printing hitting a multi-month trading high, at 0.9051.

UK share prices and British government bond prices moved higher, as United Kingdom investors took the message from the Bank of England as a sign it may keep interest rates on hold this year.

ADP JOBS REPORT MISS

The ADP National Employment Report showed United States private employers added 178,000 jobs in July, below the 185,000 financial markets had been expecting.

Private payroll gains in June were also revised up to 191,000 from the originally reported 158,000 jobs added.

The market reaction saw the U.S dollar index continue its recent decline, falling to a fifteen-month trading low against a basket of top-tier currencies.

EU UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS

The unemployment rate in the eurozone fell to its lowest since February 2009, according to the latest official figures out this week.

The EU unemployment rate dropped to 9.1% last month, from a 9.3% in May. The news helped boost the single currency to its highest trading level against the U.S dollar this year, with the EURUSD pair moving to 1.1910.

KIWI FALLS ON WEAK EMPLOYMENT FIGURES

The New Zealand dollar fell towards the $0.7400 cents level against the US dollar, after the release of employment figures from New Zealand showed a quarter-on-quarter fall in employment of 0.2 per cent, forecasters had previously predicted a 0.7 percent increase.

The kiwi was trading well above the $0.7500 level before the employment report and had reached $0.7558 last week, which was the highest trading level for the NZDUSD pair since May 2015.