- The Pound Sterling outperforms the US Dollar as Fed rate-cut bets remain firm.
- Investors await the speeches from Fed Powell and BoE Bailey to get fresh guidance on the US and the UK interest-rate outlook.
- The BoE is expected to cut interest rates gradually.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) performs strongly against its major peers, except Asia-Pacific currencies, on Friday. The British currency gains on firm speculation that the Bank of England’s (BoE) policy-easing cycle will be slower than that of other major central banks. Robust expectations for a slower BoE policy-normalization process are backed by a strong United Kingdom (UK) economic outlook and still high wage growth.
Flash UK S&P Global/CIPS PMI data for August, released Thursday, showed that the overall business activity rose at a faster pace to a four-month high at 53.4, driven by a strong expansion in manufacturing as well as the services sector. The report also signaled a sharp reduction in the backlog of work and positive sentiment towards the business outlook that points to strong job creation.
These strong economic prospects, however, are unlikely to ease market speculation of one more interest rate cut by the BoE this year as input prices in the service sector eased to their lowest level in just over three-and-a-half years in August. This is a relief for BoE policymakers as they appeared uncomfortable in cutting interest rates while inflation in the service sector remains elevated.
Meanwhile, investors await BoE Governor Andrew Bailey’s speech at the Jackson Hole (JH) Symposium, which is scheduled at 19:00 GMT. Andrew Bailey is expected to provide fresh cues about whether the BoE will cut interest rates in September.
British Pound PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of the British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. The British Pound was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.05% | -0.24% | -0.12% | -0.19% | -0.32% | -0.50% | 0.27% | |
| EUR | 0.05% | -0.19% | -0.06% | -0.15% | -0.28% | -0.22% | 0.31% | |
| GBP | 0.24% | 0.19% | 0.12% | 0.04% | -0.09% | -0.01% | 0.26% | |
| JPY | 0.12% | 0.06% | -0.12% | -0.08% | -0.21% | -0.16% | 0.15% | |
| CAD | 0.19% | 0.15% | -0.04% | 0.08% | -0.14% | -0.06% | 0.22% | |
| AUD | 0.32% | 0.28% | 0.09% | 0.21% | 0.14% | 0.07% | 0.34% | |
| NZD | 0.50% | 0.22% | 0.01% | 0.16% | 0.06% | -0.07% | 0.27% | |
| CHF | -0.27% | -0.31% | -0.26% | -0.15% | -0.22% | -0.34% | -0.27% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
Daily digest market movers: Pound Sterling gains amid speculation over BoE’s slower policy-easing process
- The Pound Sterling extends its winning streak for a seventh trading session against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday. The GBP/USD pair trades within a touching distance of a year-to-date high of 1.3130 as the US Dollar (USD) struggles to hold its Thursday’s upward move, which was mostly driven by better-than-projected flash United States (US) S&P Global PMI data for August.
- The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, hovers near 101.40 and is expected to perform sideways ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at 14:00 GMT in the JH Symposium.
- Investors will look for cues about the potential size of interest rate cuts in September, given that the Fed is widely anticipated to pivot to policy normalization. Market participants will also expect some interest-rate guidance and economic performance for the rest of the year.
- Philadelphia Fed Bank President Patrick Harker said in an interview at the JH event on Thursday that the central bank should focus more on a steady course of easing, which should be started from September, rather than the size of policy action, reported Reuters.
- Separately, Boston Fed Bank President Susan Collins also showed support for interest rate cuts in September. Collins remained confident about the Fed achieving its goals without triggering a recession.
Technical Analysis: Pound Sterling comes closer to two-year high of 1.3140
The Pound Sterling is inch far from revisiting a more-than-two-year high of 1.3140. The GBP/USD pair moves higher in a Rising Channel chart pattern in which each pullback is considered a buying opportunity by market participants. All short-to-long Exponential Moving Average (EMA) are sloping higher, suggesting that the overall trend is bullish.
The 14-period Relative Strength Index (RSI) oscillates in the bullish range of 60.00-80.00, suggesting a strong upside momentum. Still, it has reached overbought levels at around 70.00, increasing the chances of a corrective pullback. On the downside, the psychological level of 1.3000 will be the crucial support for the Pound Sterling bulls.
Economic Indicator
BoE’s Governor Bailey speech
Andrew Bailey is the Bank of England‘s Governor. He took office on March 16th, 2020, at the end of Mark Carney’s term. Bailey was serving as the Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority before being designated. This British central banker was also the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England from April 2013 to July 2016 and the Chief Cashier of the Bank of England from January 2004 until April 2011.
Next release: Fri Aug 23, 2024 19:00
Frequency: Irregular
Consensus: –
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Source: Bank of England
