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20/05/2020 – This Morning’s Exchange Rates

• Posted by currencies in Rate Alerts
• May 20, 2020
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Please find the exchange rates listed at the bottom of the article, the rates are for indication purposes only, for a live quote please contact us.

Britain’s inflation rate sank in April to its lowest since August 2016 as the coronavirus pandemic pushed down global oil prices and clothing retailers cut prices, while power tariffs also slid.

The consumer price index dropped to an annual rate of 0.8% in April from 1.5% in March, official data showed on Wednesday, broadly in line with economists’ expectations in a poll.

The Bank of England says inflation could fall below 1% in the next few months. BoE Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said it might go below zero around the end of 2020 although he did not think that would mark the start of a long period of deflation.

The Office for National Statistics, which produces the CPI, said earlier this month that inflation readings were likely to be volatile because the coronavirus shutdown has prevented statisticians from getting prices on a wide range of items.

Falls in the cost of household energy bills, transport – which includes petrol – as well as clothing and footwear, gave the biggest hit to prices.

The ONS said clothing retailers, hit by the government’s stay-at-home orders for most people in Britain, resorted to more discount sales than usual to try to shift their stock.

But there was upward pressure from the price of video games and consoles, board games and children’s toys, as well as fresh vegetables, the ONS said.

GBP/EUR 1.1170 GBP/USD 1.2216 GBP/AED 4.4834

GBP/AUD 1.8683 GBP/CHF 1.1843 GBP/CAD 1.7038

GBP/NZD 1.9994 EUR/USD 1.0934 GBP/ZAR 22.089