Dear Reader,

Today's overview of economic news and market action:

• Investor sentiment remained cautious yesterday …
• BoE hiked by 50bps yesterday, somewhat surprising the market …
• Currency-wise, the dollar was holding a slightly firmer tone ..
• The euro handed back some of its recent gains also …
• Sees EUR/USD open in the lower half of $1.09-1.10 …
• GBP/USD is operating down in the bottom half of $1.27-1.28 …
• EUR/GBP is just below 86p …
• Later today, the flash PMIs for June in the Eurozone, UK and US will garner attention …

BoE hikes by 50bps to 5% and retains bias to do more

The June meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) saw the central bank announce a 50bps rate increase. 

ECB’s Strong Four-hand

The Euro area economy has lost considerable momentum since last summer.

ECB hikes rates by a further 25bps, but not done yet

As had been widely expected, the June meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council saw the central bank raise rates by a further 25bps, pushing the key deposit rate up to 3.5%.