The consumer confidence index in the United Kingdom is at -21, lower than the market's expectation of -18, indicating a contraction in consumer confidence in the UK economy. However, the pound sterling received support from the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data released on Thursday.

Economists at MUFG Bank analyzed the trends of the pound sterling and observed that the UK PMI indicates an improving trend, and the technical retracement that occurred last year seems to have ended, helping the Bank of England (BoE) to maintain its stance to keep interest rates unchanged like other central banks. Additionally, there is a possibility that the inflation rate will reach the target of 2% in April.

John C. Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said in an interview that there might be discussions about reducing interest rates by the end of this year but emphasized that it would only be done if deemed necessary. Furthermore, Federal Reserve Chairman Christopher J. Waller also recommended that the Federal Reserve should delay reducing interest rates for another 2-3 months to assess future inflation rates.