Great Britain Pound Slips on Slower Industrial Production

The Great Britain pound weakened today after the report showed that the UK industrial production expanded in March far less than was predicted.

Britain’s industrial production increased by 0.3 percent between February and March. That’s three times below the forecast of a 0.9 percent increase. Industrial output shrank 1.2 percent in February. Manufacturing output rose 0.2 percent in March.

The worse-than-expected numbers in the industrial sector can give the UK central bank an excuse to keep the interest rates unchanged. The Bank of England left its key interest rate at the record low of 0.5 percent on May 5. The bank’s Governor Mervyn King warned that raising interest rates can be dangerous during present times of high indebtedness.

GBP/USD fell from 1.6343 to 1.6284 as of 20:23 GMT today, posting the intraday low of 1.6233 during the trading session. GBP/JPY dropped from 132.43 to 131.78.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Great Britain Pound,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.