Item 1 of 2 The Bank of England building is seen surrounded by flowers in London, Britain, May 8, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File PhotoLONDON, May 9 - was consolidating two straight record highs, although London's FTSE set a new one after the BoE and Spain was lively too as bank BBVA's 12 billion euro courtship of rival SabadellBank of England's
It also sent a message that bets on the first cut being in August might be too conservative as it lowered its inflation forecasts for two and three years' time to 1.9% and 1.6% - below its 2% target - from its February projections of 2.3% and 1.9%.Sterling fell to $1.245 from $1.2486 just before the BoE's decision and was last down 0.25%. Against the euro, the pound traded at 86.14 pence, compared to 85.
HSBC Asset Management strategist Hussain Mehdi said the BoE had now set the stage for a summer rate cut. "The question is, do they go as soon as next month in line with a likely ECB move, or wait until August," he said. Wall Street stock futures were pointing to a fractionally lower start for U.S. markets after The Dow Jones Industrial AverageOvernight in Asia, Chinese trade data and some property market developments had helped Chinese stocks continue their recent outperformance. MSCI's dollar-denominated China index has jumped more than 13% over the last two months.