Sterling extends slide

LONDON: Sterling fell another 0.3 percent to a two-week low on Friday after Bank of England governor Mark Carney signalled that the central bank may not rush to raise interest rates in May because economic data was "mixed".

Investors had this week bid up the pound, one of the best performing major currencies in 2018, to its highest level since the Brexit referendum in June 2016, in part because of growing expectations the BoE would hike rates next month to curb inflation.

But weaker than expected wage growth numbers and inflation data this week encouraged Carney to tell the BBC on Thursday that the rate rise was far from certain and that there were other BoE meetings later in the year.

"Carney has moved the goalposts," said Jane Foley, an FX strategist at Rabobank. "The data from the UK has shown signs of weakness. There are signs we could be losing momentum."

Foley said Carney was correct to have cautioned the market but it raised questions about the BoE´s forward guidance in February when the central bank had signalled a rate rise was coming soon, and it underlined that investors should see rate moves as contingent on economic data. The pound fell to a day´s low of $1.4037, its lowest since April 6.