British Pound underperforms against Japanese Yen ahead of BoE-BoJ policy outcome
- GBP/JPY declines to near 208.50 as the British Pound is under pressure ahead of BoE’s policy decision.
- The BoE is expected to hold interest rates again at 3.75%.
- Financial markets have priced in BoJ interest rate hike in the policy meeting on Friday.
The British Pound (GBP) trades 0.3% lower at around 208.50 against the Japanese Yen (JPY) during the European trading session on Thursday. GBP/JPY is under pressure as the British currency underperforms ahead of the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy announcement.
Pound Sterling Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.05% | -0.01% | -0.30% | 0.01% | -0.34% | -0.33% | -0.10% | |
| EUR | 0.05% | 0.04% | -0.25% | 0.07% | -0.30% | -0.25% | -0.03% | |
| GBP | 0.01% | -0.04% | -0.29% | 0.03% | -0.34% | -0.29% | -0.04% | |
| JPY | 0.30% | 0.25% | 0.29% | 0.28% | -0.03% | -0.05% | 0.20% | |
| CAD | -0.01% | -0.07% | -0.03% | -0.28% | -0.34% | -0.32% | -0.06% | |
| AUD | 0.34% | 0.30% | 0.34% | 0.03% | 0.34% | 0.04% | 0.25% | |
| NZD | 0.33% | 0.25% | 0.29% | 0.05% | 0.32% | -0.04% | 0.28% | |
| CHF | 0.10% | 0.03% | 0.04% | -0.20% | 0.06% | -0.25% | -0.28% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
The BoE is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% for the sixth meeting in a row, with a 6-3 vote split.
Strategists at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) said in a note, “BoE policymakers: Megan Greene, Catherine L Mann and Huw Pill will back a 25 basis points (bps) hike.”
The BoE is expected to warn of upside inflation risks, as the United Kingdom (UK) headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth remained faster in August. The CPI report showed on Wednesday that the headline inflation accelerated to 3.1% Year-on-Year (YoY) in August from 2.9% in July, with core figure remaining steady at 2.6% YoY.
On the Tokyo front, investors also await the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary policy announcement, which is scheduled for Friday.
BoJ path beyond September in focus as markets eye normalisation signals
Strategists at OCBC note that with a September rate increase from the BoJ "largely anticipated," investor attention is shifting to the policy outlook. They argue that "the bigger question is how Governor Ueda frames the path beyond September," highlighting that markets will be watching closely "whether the BoJ signals a faster pace of normalisation amid still-elevated inflation."
Central banks FAQs
Central Banks have a key mandate which is making sure that there is price stability in a country or region. Economies are constantly facing inflation or deflation when prices for certain goods and services are fluctuating. Constant rising prices for the same goods means inflation, constant lowered prices for the same goods means deflation. It is the task of the central bank to keep the demand in line by tweaking its policy rate. For the biggest central banks like the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Bank of England (BoE), the mandate is to keep inflation close to 2%.
A central bank has one important tool at its disposal to get inflation higher or lower, and that is by tweaking its benchmark policy rate, commonly known as interest rate. On pre-communicated moments, the central bank will issue a statement with its policy rate and provide additional reasoning on why it is either remaining or changing (cutting or hiking) it. Local banks will adjust their savings and lending rates accordingly, which in turn will make it either harder or easier for people to earn on their savings or for companies to take out loans and make investments in their businesses. When the central bank hikes interest rates substantially, this is called monetary tightening. When it is cutting its benchmark rate, it is called monetary easing.
A central bank is often politically independent. Members of the central bank policy board are passing through a series of panels and hearings before being appointed to a policy board seat. Each member in that board often has a certain conviction on how the central bank should control inflation and the subsequent monetary policy. Members that want a very loose monetary policy, with low rates and cheap lending, to boost the economy substantially while being content to see inflation slightly above 2%, are called ‘doves’. Members that rather want to see higher rates to reward savings and want to keep a lit on inflation at all time are called ‘hawks’ and will not rest until inflation is at or just below 2%.
Normally, there is a chairman or president who leads each meeting, needs to create a consensus between the hawks or doves and has his or her final say when it would come down to a vote split to avoid a 50-50 tie on whether the current policy should be adjusted. The chairman will deliver speeches which often can be followed live, where the current monetary stance and outlook is being communicated. A central bank will try to push forward its monetary policy without triggering violent swings in rates, equities, or its currency. All members of the central bank will channel their stance toward the markets in advance of a policy meeting event. A few days before a policy meeting takes place until the new policy has been communicated, members are forbidden to talk publicly. This is called the blackout period.
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