Bank of England, ECB on Hold

The Bank of England not only held interest rates firm at 5.75%, but issued a special statement today in conjunction with the decision. This leads traders to believe that the BoE will be on hold for the foreseeable future, and could mean some short-term softness for the GBP. The European Central Bank left rates on hold at 4%, with traders waiting for Trichet's speech at 12:30 GMT for clues about the future direction of the Euro.