Talking Points:
- The British Pound[1] slumped hard late in yesterday's session following comments by BOE Governor Mark Carney. - The BOE chief's remarks saw May rate hike odds from from near 85% to 52%. - Sentiment for the British Pound[2] is now neutral. For longer-term technical and fundamental analysis, and to view DailyFX analysts’ top trading ideas for 2018, check out the DailyFX Trading Guides[3] page. The US Dollar (via the DXY[4] Index) has extended its run of gains this week, on pace for its fourth consecutive day in the black amid a rise in US Treasury yields. USD/JPY[5] continues to push higher despite US equity markets stalling, while EUR/USD[6] has slipped back to trendline support dating to April 2017, the pivot lows seen before the first round of the French elections.But the biggest mover over the past 24-hours has been the British Pound. Following Bank of England Governor Mark Carney's comments yesterday, overnight index swaps' implied probability of a rate hike next month dropped from near 85% to below 50% yesterday.The BOE chief noted that there has been weakness in some recent data, all of which has come across the wires in the past week: the bevy of price data - CPI, PPI, and RPI - all came in softer than anticipated; despite the unemployment rate remaining at multi-decade lows, jobs growth and wage growth are uneven; and retail sales figures missed expectations.What was once seen as a sure thing is now being drawn into question. Fellow BOE policymaker Michael Saunders' remarks earlier today has helped stabilize rate expectations, with OIS now pricing in a 52% chance of a
