The BoE said it now wanted to return inflation to its 2 percent target over "a more conventional horizon", which would mean curbing price growth within two years rather than three. "Were the economy to evolve broadly in line with the February Inflation Report projections, monetary policy would need to be tightened somewhat earlier and by a somewhat greater extent over the forecast period than anticipated at the time of the November Report," the Monetary Policy Committee said.
In the US session Unemployment Claims data was released. In the week ending February 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 230,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,500, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 234,500. This is the lowest level for this average since March 10, 1973 when it was 222,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4 percent for the week ending January 27, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.
Tomorrow's session will bring UK Industrial Production figures. Analysts predict 0.9% decrease. There will be no data releases in the US part of the session.
Figures to watch:
Industrial Production (Friday 10:30)
