[GBP/USD]

[GBP/USD] traded to the day's high yest of 1.4298 before being pressured lower reaching an o/n low of 1.4110 by rising risk aversion and concerns on the UK economic outlook on a CBI report that they expect the UK financial services companies to shed up to 25% of the workforce in Q2 09. UK data saw Feb net lending to individuals increase to Gbp1.3 bln and Feb mortgage approvals reached their highest level in nine months, up to 38K from 32K in Jan. Overall mortgage lending activity expanded to Gbp1.5 billion in Feb from Gbp1.1 bln in Jan. The pair's direction will continue to be closely correlated to the direction of equity markets and investor reaction to the BOE's effort to try to stimulate growth through quantitative ease in the absence of UK and US first tier data today.