Investors are coming round to the view that the Bank of England is likely to cut interest rates this week, encouraged by signs that inflationary pressures are receding globally.
Traders in swaps markets are placing a probability of around 60 per cent that the central bank will lower rates from a 16-year high of 5.25 per cent on Thursday, having priced a 40 per cent likelihood following the UK’s latest inflation figures earlier this month.
Investors said the moves have come as the BoE is likely to focus on the long-term outlook for inflation and growth, with unemployment rates rising and goods prices easing, despite services inflation remaining uncomfortably high.