ETF Securities: Bank of England - probability for a hike in May have risen

„While the Bank of England kept rates unchanged today, the language was more hawkish. The reference in the December meeting to a need for “modest” tightening appears supplanted by “rates may need to rise somewhat earlier and by a somewhat greater degree”. Growth forecasts were raised and the BOE is scrapping its three-year horizon to get inflation to target and moving back to two years. Probability for a hike in May have risen to 62.7% vs 53.3% prior to the meeting. Sterling moved higher as markets digested news of the rate forecast moving higher earlier.  Barring any Brexit related hiccups, sterling is likely to sustain recent gains.“