GBP manages to remain balanced. Overview for 24.05.2023

The British pound looks neutral against the US dollar. The current GBPUSD quote is 1.2450.

This morning's statistics from the UK provided food for thought. Inflation fell to single digits for the first time in eight months. At the same time, the indices for services and base prices have risen at the fastest rate in 30 years.

UK CPI dropped to 8.7% y/y in April, down from 10.1% previously. The forecast, however, was even more optimistic, suggesting a decline to 8.2% y/y. Core inflation in April rose to 6.8% y/y from 6.2% earlier.

The retail price index fell to 11.4% y/y in April after hitting 13.5% y/y in March. The input PPI for April fell to -0.3% m/m from 0.2% m/m previously. The output PPI came out at the zero level.

All this will put further pressure on the Bank of England to continue to raise interest rates as part of its fight against inflation, at least until the summer. In June, the rate is likely to rise to 4.75% per annum from the current 4.50%. This is good news for the pound.