LONDON: The British pound held near a two-month low against the dollar and nursed losses against the euro on Tuesday after the Bank of England said its chief economist will leave the central bank later this year.
While the reaction in currency markets was muted, with the pound holding close to the day’s lows against its main rivals, Haldane’s exit is widely seen as a departure of one of the more hawkish figures at the central bank.
Haldane has been the most upbeat member of the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee on prospects for a sharp economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and in February likened inflation to a tiger that could easily be roused. Against the dollar, the British currency was down 0.1% at $1.3692, having touched its lowest since Feb. 5 at $1.3670 in the previous session.
Against the euro, the pound held below the day’s lows at 86.87 pence. It hit a more than six-week low of 87.12 pence earlier, Refinitiv data shows. Money market futures were broadly unchanged on the news, with interest rate futures expecting the Bank of England to keep rates unchanged until mid-2022.
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