Sterling fell on Wednesday and investors pushed back expectations for a first rise in official UK interest rates after the Bank of England said inflation was likely to fall below 1 percent and rates rise at a slower pace, Reuters reported. As the bank trimmed some of its forecasts for growth, Governor Mark Carney said it was appropriate that markets expected somewhat easier monetary conditions to prevail than they had done three months ago. He also said a rally for the pound that has faltered in recent months had subtracted about 0.75 percentage points from headline inflation over the past year. The pound hit a day's low of $1.5873 after the report was published and in reaction to Carney's initial comments at a news conference. It also fell to a session low against the euro, trading at 78.505 pence per euro. Britain's blue-chip FTSE index pared losses after the report. Short sterling futures for June and September of next year rose around 4-6 basis points, implying expectations for a rate rise were moving to the third quarter from marginally earlier.
