The Pound Sterling (GBP) remained offered on Wednesday as the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the economy shrank by 0.5% in July and factory activities contracted significantly due to a deteriorating demand outlook. The GBP/USD pair witnessed an intense sell-off as higher interest rates by the Bank of England (BoE) triggered an economic slowdown and firms remain reluctant to full-capacity utilization.
After significant layoffs and weak factory activities in July, it is evident that the UK economy is failing to absorb the burden of restrictive monetary policy. Meanwhile, strong wage momentum has boosted upside risks to inflation and warrants more interest rate hikes from the BoE to contain the highest inflation among G7 economies. Sarah Breeden, who will replace the BoE’s Jon Cunliffe for Deputy Governor in November, also said that risks to inflation are skewed to the upside.
