GBP: Repricing risks into spring – Rabobank
Rabobank’s Senior FX Strategist Jane Foley notes that the Pound has been the second best performing G10 currency after the Dollar since the Middle East conflict, driven by a sharp repricing of Bank of England (BoE) policy expectations. Rabobank economist Stefan Koopman now sees risk of only one BoE hike, potentially in April, and the bank expects EUR/GBP to move toward 0.87–0.88 over 3–6 months as UK growth and stagflation risks weigh on Sterling.
Sterling strength seen fading versus Euro
“After the USD, the pound is the second best performing G10 currency since the start of the war in the Middle East. This reflects the sharp turnaround in expectations regarding BoE policy. Ahead of the conflict, the market was comfortable with the forecast that the BoE could cut rates twice more this year.”
“Currently, the market is priced for between two to three rate hikes on a one year view, though tightening expectations have fallen back a little today. This is unsurprising. In Rabo’s view, three rate hikes appears excessive.”
“Given risk that this may shift the Labour party further to the left, this is also potentially unnerving for both gilts and the pound. We look for GBP to slip back vs. the EUR into the spring.”
“It follows that it may be more vulnerable to recession risks than many of its peers, particularly if the BoE were to unleash an aggressive round of policy tightening. Against this backdrop, we expect the pound to give back some of its recent gains vs. a basket of (non-USD) G10 currencies into the spring.”
“Against this backdrop, we expect the pound to give back some of its recent gains vs. a basket of (non-USD) G10 currencies into the spring. We expect EUR/GBP to trade in the 0.87 to 0.88 area on a 3-to-6-month view.”
S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market





