The pound ticked higher on Monday as Bank of England (BOE) governor Andrew Bailey said he was “more positive” about economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, although it came with a “large dose of caution.”
The currency climbed 0.04% against the dollar (GBPUSD=X) at €1.3926 and was 0.17% higher against the euro (GBPEUR=X) at €1.1669.
Speaking on BBC’s Today program, Bailey said he took a more “balanced” view than the Bank’s chief economist Andy Haldane, who has said that the UK economy could bounce back like a “coiled spring” this year.
“There’s no question that the vaccine program is a great achievement,” he said. “The economic effects of the restrictions appear over time to be reducing.”
The governor said that the British economy might perform more strongly than the BOE initially predicted last month as households spend the savings they have accumulated during the lockdown. However, he cautioned that there was also a risk from possible new COVID-19 variants.
Source: Yahoo Finance
