Sterling rises to new intraday highs against major currencies as traders reduce bets on BoE rate cuts

The Bank of England's chief economist Peel said the Monetary Policy Committee is focusing on the persistence of inflation, with a number of indicators pointing to upside risks to inflation. According to him, rising prices in the services sector and wage growth continue to suggest a disturbingly strong underlying inflation dynamic. Subsequently, traders reduced their bets on a rate cut by the Bank of England, with traders seeing less than a 50% chance of a rate cut in August. The pound briefly rose 30 pips against the dollar, up 0.3% to 1.2830, while the euro fell 0.3% against the pound to 0.8436, its lowest level since June 26th.