U.K. MPC Meeting Minutes Analysis

Release Explanation: It is a detailed record of the BOE MPC's most recent meeting, providing in-depth insights into the economic conditions that influenced their vote on where to set interest rates.

TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Desk Thoughts: The BoE's minutes from the meeting held at the beginning of April shows that the committee had voted unanimously to maintain the Bank Rate at 50 basis points and continue with the asset buying program, started last month.

'The voting committee noted that output continued to fall at a strong pace throughout the first quarter, something that suggests the bank expects a poor Q1 GDP read. However, the rate of contraction experienced in the business environment might start to moderate over the coming period. A similar pattern was observed in the real estate market, where housing prices appeared to have stabilized over the latest months.' TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Team said. 'However, despite these improvements, the overall economic risk remains to the downside'

The bank members also outlined that only a third, or £26.5 billion, of assets had been bought through the bank's asset purchasing program. Most of the assets were gilts, even though the bank planned initially to buy corporate and commercial debt. The bank noted some improvements made in the corporate market, but also noted that these small improvements might only be temporary, something that may force the bank to expand the program.

Forex Technical Reaction: The pound declined 160 pips during the European trading session, from which half came following the news release. For now, cable trades just above the 100 day SMA, which may result in additional selling orders if broken.

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