Amid a steady increase in the US inflation expectations and fresh fears of the South African coronavirus variant, dubbed as Omicron, analysts expect the Bank of England (BOE) to announce the much-awaited rate hike during early next year.
Goldman Sachs mark Omicron fears to push back expectations favoring a 0.15% rate hike from December 2021 to February 2022.
On the other hand, Reuters’ latest poll says, “In a November poll a slim majority of economists expected a rise from 0.10% to 0.25% on Dec. 16. But since then policymaker Michael Saunders, who voted for an interest rate hike last month, said he wanted more details about the new variant before deciding how to vote this month.”
FX reaction
The dovish chatters weigh on the GBP/USD prices, down 0.18% intraday around 1.3200 at the latest.
Read: GBP/USD stays depressed around 1.3200, coronavirus, Brexit jitters poke yearly low
