Recession concerns have provoked the BoE’s will to cut rates
Concerns about a UK recession are intensifying, making a BoE rate cut next month likely. The recent December retail sales data from the ONS reveals a decrease of 0.3% compared to the previous month, a stark contrast to the market's expectation of a 0.4% increase. This clearly indicates that consumer apprehension regarding the economic downturn is escalating rapidly. The market firmly anticipates that the BoE will reduce interest rates by an additional 25bp during the monetary policy meeting on February 6. Furthermore, many analysts assert that, given the current state of the UK economy, the BoE is poised to execute four interest rate cuts this year.
After breaking out of the ascending channel, GBPUSD trades sideways around 1.2450. However, the price holds above EMA21, indicating a potential for an extension of bullish momentum. If GBPUSD reenters the channel, the price could gain upward momentum toward the 1.2500 threshold. Conversely, if GBPUSD fails to hold above EMA21, the price could fall further to the support at 1.2350, where EMA78 coincides.
