After initially suggesting a fall in the UK Inflation, British Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt will say on Friday that he will tackle the country's weak productivity growth, including by using post-Brexit finance reforms to drive more investment into the economy, per the UK Treasury as reported by Reuters.

The update also states that UK Chancellor Hunt will say in a speech on Friday, "We should not shy away from the biggest challenge we face which is our poor productivity."

Hunt would confirm in the speech that reforms to the European Union's Solvency II rules will be implemented in the coming months, allowing insurers to invest more in the economy, the ministry said, per Reuters.

GBP/USD retreats

GBP/USD was last seen declining to 1.2398, down 0.13% intraday, even after the upbeat news.

Also read: GBP/USD stabilizes above 1.2400 as USD index extends correction, US PCE in focus