GBP/USD: Friday correction after surge
On Friday, the GBP/USD pair declined to 1.3401 after strong gains earlier in the week. The previous rally was triggered by July business activity data, which showed the best performance in a year, mainly supported by the services sector.
The release came alongside fresh UK inflation statistics, which briefly lifted sterling. However, economists noted that the price acceleration was largely driven by airfare increases rather than broad-based inflationary pressure, meaning its effect on the Bank of England policy remains limited. Read more…
GBP/USD Forecast: Pound Sterling could extend downtrend on a hawkish Powell tone
GBP/USD stabilizes slightly above 1.3400 in the European session on Friday after posting losses for four consecutive days and losing about 1% since the beginning of the week. Investors refrain from taking large positions ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium.
The US Dollar (USD) benefited from the upbeat Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data from the US and caused GBP/USD to push lower on Thursday. S&P Global Manufacturing PMI improved to 53.3 in August’s preliminary estimate from 49.8 in July and the Services PMI came in at 55.4, beating the market expectation of 54.2. Reflecting the broad-based USD strength, the USD Index climbed to its highest level in over two weeks near 99.00 early Friday. Read more…
