Pound edges up after Bank of England stimulus slump

The pound ticked up slightly Friday after plunging the day before in reaction to the Bank of England's interest rate cut and surprise stimulus to shore up the British economy.

The central bank slashed interest rates to a record low 0.25 percent -- the first cut since 2009 -- Thursday, while it also unveiled a £170 billion growth-boosting package.

Bank policymakers' hands were forced after the country voted on June 23 to quit the European Union, a move the BoE warned could send Britain into recession. As such, it slashed its growth outlook for next year and 2018.

Sterling plunged to $1.3114 by the end of the day Thursday, from above $1.33 earlier in Asia. On Friday it edged up slightly to $1.3131 in Tokyo.

"It was all about the Bank of England overnight, with the bank over-delivering on expectations for further policy easing," Jason Wong, a currency strategist at the Bank of New Zealand, said in a commentary.

London's measures came after a string of disappointing announcements out of global central banks from Tokyo to Europe that came up well short of expectations and dented confidence. World markets had soared through July on promises from leaders of financial support in the wake of the British EU exit vote.

The dollar was flat against its major peers ahead of key US jobs data later in the day.

The July government employment figures could offer a clue about the Federal Reserve's monetary policy plans, after weak second-quarter economic data growth all but ruled out an interest rate hike this year. 

The greenback fetched 101.24 yen compared with 101.22 yen in US trade, while the euro was at $1.1132 and 112.70 yen against $1.1131 and 112.66 yen.

"The most important development overnight was that the high expectations for global monetary and fiscal easing are steadily being met," Angus Nicholson, a Melbourne-based market analyst at IG, said in a client e-mail.

"Barring a major miss in the (US jobs report), US equities are likely to be keen to play catch-up in today's session, once that event risk is out of the way."