empty
09.08.2022 11:37 PM
Traders have clearly underestimated the Bank of England's economic forecast

This image is no longer relevant

The Bank of England presented an unusually apocalyptic economic forecast in its quarterly economic review last week, overshadowing the largest interest rate hike in more than a quarter of a century. Nevertheless, the UK markets barely budged. Traders consider the BoE's forecasts useless, given the financial expenses that come from who will become the next prime minister.

The BoE now expects inflation to peak at 13.3% this year, with annual price growth still close to 10% a year from now. The real shock, however, is its forecast of a prolonged recession, in which growth is not expected for almost two years, and the overall decline in gross domestic product will be more than 2%. Unemployment is expected to rise by two-thirds from the current level of 3.8%.

This image is no longer relevant

The BoE repeated the actions of its colleagues from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, canceling forward-looking recommendations. Instead of determining market expectations regarding the future path of interest rate changes, decisions will be made at each meeting. This hardly inspires confidence in the ability of politicians to predict economic prospects, and also risks increasing market volatility in the coming months.

The British FTSE stock index has a very sluggish bullish trend with a huge potential for attacking targets below:

This image is no longer relevant

The crucial disadvantage is that the BoE's forecasts cannot take into account any tax cuts that are not yet official government policy. So while Liz Truss, the candidate to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister, has promised an immediate financial bailout of around 40 billion pounds ($49 billion), and rival candidate Rishi Sunak also promises to shake the magic money tree, this supposed generosity does not figure in the central bank's models.

The GBPUSD pair continues to be in a pronounced short trend with good prospects for further decline:

This image is no longer relevant

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey refused to answer any questions that concerned the political arena. But with the BoE's own forecasts showing inflation at almost seven times its strict 2% target, relations between the UK government and its central bank are likely to fall on hard times. "The bank may be politically independent, but it is not independent of politics," commented Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon.

Truss has repeatedly stressed that the mandate of the BoE will be reviewed during her administration. Having such a prescriptive goal has become an obstacle for the central bank, and, within reason, it should welcome the changes.

This image is no longer relevant

At the moment, the markets interpreted last week's rate hike as a dovish increase. Given that the BoE forecasts an inflation rate of 0.8% by the end of its three-year forecast horizon, raising the cost of borrowing much higher in a recession seems unwise. Two or three quarter-point increases will cause the official interest rate to peak at about 2.5% by the end of the year, at which point policymakers may want to pause to assess how the economy is developing in light of both fiscal stimulus and monetary tightening.

Last week, the BoE needed to send a message about a reduction in inflation expectations, hence the excessive rate hike. Traders have come to the conclusion that politicians have no particular idea of what will happen next for the economy. As the bank tries to communicate its political intentions in the coming months, it needs to be careful not to give too much heat but not enough light.

Andrey Shevchenko,
Analytical expert of InstaForex
© 2007-2025
Select timeframe
5
min
15
min
30
min
1
hour
4
hours
1
day
1
week
Earn on cryptocurrency rate changes with InstaForex
Download MetaTrader 4 and open your first trade
  • Grand Choice
    Contest by
    InstaForex
    InstaForex always strives to help you
    fulfill your biggest dreams.
    JOIN CONTEST

Recommended Stories

What to Pay Attention to on April 21? A Breakdown of Fundamental Events for Beginners

No macroeconomic events are scheduled for Monday—not in the U.S., the Eurozone, Germany, or the U.K. Therefore, even if the market was paying attention to the macroeconomic backdrop, today, there

Paolo Greco 06:30 2025-04-21 UTC+2

GBP/USD Overview – April 21: The Inertial Growth Continues

The GBP/USD currency pair continued its upward movement on Friday. If we had seen such price action away from peak levels, there would have been no questions. In essence

Paolo Greco 04:01 2025-04-21 UTC+2

EUR/USD Overview – April 21: The Market Sleeps, Only Trump Can Wake It Up

On Friday, the EUR/USD currency pair made no notable movements whatsoever. This was unsurprising, as Friday marked Good Friday, and Sunday was Easter. Many banks and trading venues were closed

Paolo Greco 04:01 2025-04-21 UTC+2

US Dollar: Weekly Preview

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? The US dollar will again try to answer that question in the new week. To briefly recap: over the past

Chin Zhao 01:01 2025-04-21 UTC+2

British Pound: Weekly Preview

Several fairly interesting reports were released in the UK, but they almost did not impact market participants' actions. Demand for the British pound increased on all five days except

Chin Zhao 01:01 2025-04-21 UTC+2

Euro: Weekly Preview

There were very few changes regarding the euro last week. We observed horizontal movement for most of the week, which naturally did not affect the current wave markup. I want

Chin Zhao 01:00 2025-04-21 UTC+2

Trump targets Powell

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump stated that he could dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, casting doubt on the idea of central bank independence. He also expressed frustration that policymakers

Jakub Novak 14:42 2025-04-18 UTC+2

EU increases pressure on US

The entire world is now watching the ongoing negotiations between the US and its key trading partners. Despite President Trump's loud claims that the talks are going well, there

Jakub Novak 14:04 2025-04-18 UTC+2

The Market Taken Hostage

Will the White House cross the Rubicon by initiating the dismissal of Jerome Powell from his position as Chair of the Federal Reserve? That would deal another blow to financial

Marek Petkovich 09:16 2025-04-18 UTC+2

Why Are Markets Frozen and What Are They Waiting For? (There is a possibility of continued Bitcoin and Ethereum consolidation in sideways ranges)

Today is Good Friday, a day Christians observe worldwide across all denominations. Market activity has noticeably decreased ahead of the Easter holiday, but this isn't the main reason for market

Pati Gani 09:00 2025-04-18 UTC+2
Can't speak right now?
Ask your question in the chat.
Widget callback
 

Dear visitor,

Your IP address shows that you are currently located in the USA. If you are a resident of the United States, you are prohibited from using the services of InstaFintech Group including online trading, online transfers, deposit/withdrawal of funds, etc.

If you think you are seeing this message by mistake and your location is not the US, kindly proceed to the website. Otherwise, you must leave the website in order to comply with government restrictions.

Why does your IP address show your location as the USA?

  • - you are using a VPN provided by a hosting company based in the United States;
  • - your IP does not have proper WHOIS records;
  • - an error occurred in the WHOIS geolocation database.

Please confirm whether you are a US resident or not by clicking the relevant button below. If you choose the wrong option, being a US resident, you will not be able to open an account with InstaForex anyway.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this message.