Pound Climbs After BoE McCafferty's Remarks

The pound advanced against its major opponents in early European deals on Tuesday, as the England policymaker Ian McCafferty cautioned against delaying U.K. rate hike amid strong global economic recovery and sustained wage growth.

"We shouldn't dally when it comes to tightening policy modestly," McCafferty said in an interview with Reuters.

"It's not wages suddenly bursting away, but it gives you a modest upside risk."

The "jury is still out" on whether the inflationary pressures arising from a fall in the pound since the Brexit vote would wither as quickly as expected, he told.

"On balance, those three arguments give me some potential modest upside risks to the (inflation) forecasts."

Sentiment improved after Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined measures to "significantly" lower import tariffs for autos and other products and improve the investment environment for international companies.

Speaking at the Boao Forum for Asia, Xi said that China does not seek trade surplus and has a genuine desire to increase imports and achieve greater balance of international payments under the current account.

Data from the British Retail Consortium showed that U.K. like-for-like sales surged 1.4 percent on year in March.

That topped expectations for a decline of 0.1 percent following the 0.6 percent increase in February.

The currency has been trading higher against its major counterparts in the Asian session, with the exception of the greenback.

The U.K. currency firmed to 1.4168 against the greenback, its strongest since March 28. The next possible resistance for the pound is seen around the 1.44 level.

The pound rose to 1.3544 against the franc and a session's high of 0.8698 against the euro, from its early low of 1.3504 and a session's low of 0.8722, respectively. On the upside, 1.39 and 0.86 are seen as the next resistance levels for the pound against the franc and the euro, respectively.

The pound advanced to a 2-month high of 151.68 against the yen, off its early low of 150.71. The pound is seen finding resistance around the 156.00 region.

Looking ahead, at 5:30 am ET, BOE Chief Economist Andy Haldane speaks about the role of central banks and societal inequality at the David Finch Public Lecture in Melbourne.

In the New York session, Canada housing starts for March and building permits for February, as well as U.S. producer prices for March and wholesale sales for February are due.