UK CPI expected to rebound sharply in January, challenging BoE’s rate cut path
- United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics will publish the January CPI data on Wednesday.
- The annual UK headline and core CPI inflation are expected to increase in January.
- The Pound Sterling braces for volatility on the UK CPI report data release amid a prudent BoE.
The high-impact Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the United Kingdom (UK) for January will be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday at 07:00 GMT.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) could witness a big reaction to the UK CPI inflation report, which will likely have a strong bearing on the Bank of England’s (BoE) interest rate-cut path amid upside risks to inflation.
What to expect from the next UK inflation report?
The UK Consumer Price Index is expected to rise at an annual rate of 2.8% in January after increasing by 2.5% in December.
The reading is set to move further away from the BoE’s 2.0% target.
Core CPI inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, is forecast to climb to 3.6% YoY in January from December’s 3.2%.
According to a Bloomberg survey of economists, official data is expected to show that service inflation jumped to 5.2% in January after falling to 4.4% in December.
Meanwhile, the British monthly CPI is seen declining 0.3% in the same period, as against the previous growth of 0.3%.
Previewing the UK inflation data, TD Securities analysts noted: “Inflation is set to rebound sharply after December airfares were surveyed early in the month and missed the usual seasonal bump. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) expects this too, and is looking for core inflation of 3.9% year-on-year (YoY), having set the bar quite high for upside inflation surprises in the next few months. Still, it'll make for uncomfortable reading even if some of the drivers are temporary.”
How will the UK Consumer Price Index report affect GBP/USD?
At its monetary policy meeting earlier this month, the BoE lowered the benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.5% after the UK annual headline and services inflation unexpectedly cooled in December.
However, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey maintained a cautious stance on future rate cuts, noting that "we must judge in future meetings whether underlying inflation pressures are easing enough to allow further cuts."
"We must proceed carefully,” he added.
Therefore, the January UK CPI data will be closely scrutinized for fresh hints on the BoE’s easing trajectory.
A hotter-than-expected headline and core inflation data will strengthen the expectations of the BoE’s prudent approach to policy easing, providing a fresh boost to the Pound Sterling uptrend. In this case, GBP/USD could target the 1.2700 round figure. On the other hand, a downside surprise in the inflation readings could rekindle bets for aggressive BoE rate cuts, fuelling a GBP/USD correction from over two-month highs.
Dhwani Mehta, Asian Session Lead Analyst at FXStreet, offers a brief technical outlook for the major and explains: “GBP/USD is challenging the key resistance near 1.2605 heading into the UK CPI data release, with the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) momentum indicator in the daily chart holding firm above 50. The 21-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) is on the verge of crossing the 50-day SMA from below, which, if it occurs on a daily closing basis, will confirm a Bull Cross. These technical indicators point to a sustained uptrend for the pair.”
Mehta adds: “However, the pair needs acceptance above the 100-day SMA at 1.2665 to initiate a meaningful upside toward the 200-day SMA at 1.2788. Ahead of that level, the 1.2700 round level must be recovered. On the flip side, the immediate support is seen at the 21-day SMA and the 50-day SMA confluence at around 1.2460. Should the selling pressure intensify, the rising trendline support drawn from the January 13 low at 1.2357 will come to the buyers’ rescue.
Economic Indicator
Consumer Price Index (YoY)
The United Kingdom (UK) Consumer Price Index (CPI), released by the Office for National Statistics on a monthly basis, is a measure of consumer price inflation – the rate at which the prices of goods and services bought by households rise or fall – produced to international standards. It is the inflation measure used in the government’s target. The YoY reading compares prices in the reference month to a year earlier. Generally, a high reading is seen as bullish for the Pound Sterling (GBP), while a low reading is seen as bearish.
Read more.Next release: Wed Feb 19, 2025 07:00
Frequency: Monthly
Consensus: 2.8%
Previous: 2.5%
Source: Office for National Statistics
The Bank of England is tasked with keeping inflation, as measured by the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) at around 2%, giving the monthly release its importance. An increase in inflation implies a quicker and sooner increase of interest rates or the reduction of bond-buying by the BOE, which means squeezing the supply of pounds. Conversely, a drop in the pace of price rises indicates looser monetary policy. A higher-than-expected result tends to be GBP bullish.
Inflation FAQs
Inflation measures the rise in the price of a representative basket of goods and services. Headline inflation is usually expressed as a percentage change on a month-on-month (MoM) and year-on-year (YoY) basis. Core inflation excludes more volatile elements such as food and fuel which can fluctuate because of geopolitical and seasonal factors. Core inflation is the figure economists focus on and is the level targeted by central banks, which are mandated to keep inflation at a manageable level, usually around 2%.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices of a basket of goods and services over a period of time. It is usually expressed as a percentage change on a month-on-month (MoM) and year-on-year (YoY) basis. Core CPI is the figure targeted by central banks as it excludes volatile food and fuel inputs. When Core CPI rises above 2% it usually results in higher interest rates and vice versa when it falls below 2%. Since higher interest rates are positive for a currency, higher inflation usually results in a stronger currency. The opposite is true when inflation falls.
Although it may seem counter-intuitive, high inflation in a country pushes up the value of its currency and vice versa for lower inflation. This is because the central bank will normally raise interest rates to combat the higher inflation, which attract more global capital inflows from investors looking for a lucrative place to park their money.
Formerly, Gold was the asset investors turned to in times of high inflation because it preserved its value, and whilst investors will often still buy Gold for its safe-haven properties in times of extreme market turmoil, this is not the case most of the time. This is because when inflation is high, central banks will put up interest rates to combat it. Higher interest rates are negative for Gold because they increase the opportunity-cost of holding Gold vis-a-vis an interest-bearing asset or placing the money in a cash deposit account. On the flipside, lower inflation tends to be positive for Gold as it brings interest rates down, making the bright metal a more viable investment alternative.
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