It's a not been a good morning's reading for UK households 15 Feb

I mentioned in my UK data preview that with rising inflation comes concerns that wages will not keep pace and hey presto the pound falls on softer data. GBPUSD has been down to 1.2420, EURGBP to 0.8495 and GBPJPY down to 142.15

There have been two reports out today that present a reality check to all those out there who see the UK from afar or rose-tinted glasses.

From think-tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) we get the disturbing news that nearly a third of the population of the UK is living on an "inadequate" income. In 2014-15, it said that 19 million people were living on less than the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) and said the problem was that household costs have been rising, while incomes have stagnated.

Among the 19 million said to be below the MIS are six million children, representing 45% of all children in Britain.There are also 1.8m pensioners, representing 14.6% of the age group.The figures are up from 15m, or 25% of the population, six years previously.

The report warns that many of the families that are just about managing are in danger of falling into poverty.That is despite record levels of employment.

Ok ,so it's not exactly current data but the problem hasn't got any better and while central banks like a bit of inflation they need to be careful what they wish for. I have long warned on these pages about the real threat and issue of rising household debt and it does appear at least from Carney's last Inflation Report presser that he is starting to agree.

More from the BBC here

Also out is research from Markit that shows UK households felt their living costs this month rose at the fastest pace in 4 years. Perception of future costs also increased.

While Markit said households were reporting plenty of work and lower worries about job losses but it's Household Finance Index, which measures overall financial well-being fell sharply to 42.5 vs 43.6 in Jan, second-fastest deterioration since Aug 2014. Households also recorded their sharpest drop in appetite for large consumer items.

So it's wages along with household borrowing, not jobs, that should be causing the concern. A problem that would only be exacerbated by an BOE interest rate hike and I just hope the Old Lady has that conversation in its deliberations.

I don't see a rate hike here in the UK in 2017 and by Carney's own admission with inflation looking to peak by end-2018, maybe we don't see one at all for some time. So along with increasing levels of poverty it's all part of the reason/Brexit mix that maintains my bearish GBP view.