BoE holds rates steady but its tone was more hawkish than expected
Source: www.tradingview.com
The Bank of England held the official bank rate at 5.25%, with Catherine Mann and Jonathan Haskel being the only two hawks favouring a 25bps hike. This is more hawkish than expected as general thinking was that the three hawks that voted in December would relent. Moreover, the statement indicated that the central bank was still concerned over the persistence of inflation, with the forecast for inflation pushing back against expectations for an early rate cut. The statement read that "Monetary policy needs to be restrictive for an extended period of time until the risk of inflation becoming embedded above the 2% target dissipates."
GBPUSD did spike following the announcement but is still 0.21% down for the day with its daily RSI on the softer side of 50 (green rectangle).
The implied probability for a May cut is now 50%, down from just above 60%
Russell Shor
Senior Market Strategist
Russell Shor is a Senior Market Strategist at FXCM, having been promoted to the role in 2025 in recognition of his depth of insight and consistent delivery of high-impact market analysis. He originally joined FXCM in October 2017 as a Senior Market Specialist.
Russell holds an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of South Africa, is a certified FMVA®, and a full member of the Society of Technical Analysts (UK). With over 20 years of experience in financial markets, his work is renowned for its clarity, precision, and strategic value across asset classes.
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