The pound fell to its lowest level in more than two weeks: The British pound dropped to $1.26,
around its weakest level since March 5,
with increasing expectations that the Bank of England might cut interest rates
in the summer due to a sharper-than-expected decline in the British inflation rate.
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The pound falls to its lowest level
Anticipations for the Swiss franc
The pound fell to its lowest level in more than two weeks following the release of CPI
The latest consumer price index report revealed that the headline figure fell to 3.4% in February,
the lowest rate since September 2021 and slightly below the market expectations of 3.5%.
Additionally, the core rate dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years at 4.5%, below the expected 4.6%.
Investors are now eagerly awaiting the Bank of England’s interest rate decision, which is due on Thursday.
The central bank is widely expected to maintain interest rates at 5.25%,
with UK policymakers leaning towards potential rate cuts in August,
diverging from the expected moves by the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve,
which are expected to act in June.
Profit-taking pressures Bitcoin to drop below $63,000
The pace of Bitcoin’s price correction accelerated in the past few hours
as ETFs listed in the United States lost their momentum for several weeks.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell more than 8%
to below $61,000 before recovering some of these losses in the past few moments.
The recent decline in Bitcoin prices can be attributed to several factors, including outflows from spot ETFs.
Preliminary data published by investment firm Farsight shows that on Tuesday,
there was a net outflow of $326 million from spot ETFs, the largest ever. On Monday,
the Grayscale fund experienced a record outflow of $643 million.
Anticipations for the Swiss franc to weaken further beyond parity against the euro due to interest rate differentials.
The divergence in interest rates is expected to weaken the Swiss franc against the euro,
potentially lifting the EURCHF currency pair to parity, according to Olivier Korber,
a futures currency strategist at Societe Generale research.
The Swiss National Bank could cut interest rates as early as Thursday, leading to a decline in the franc.
At the same time, the European Central Bank could postpone interest rate cuts beyond June as inflation gradually slows down.
“With inflation in Switzerland declining and currency strength becoming a bigger issue,
investors should consider the risks of the first interest rate cut this week.
The pound fell to its lowest level in more than two weeks.