GBP/USD hangs near daily low, around mid-1.2400s amid fresh USD buying
|- GBP/USD meets with some supply on Thursday amid the emergence of some USD buying.
- A further rise in the US bond yields turns out to be a key factor lending support to the buck.
- The USD maintains its bid tone and moves little following the Advance US Q1 GDP report.
The GBP/USD pair attracts some sellers near the 1.2500 psychological mark during the early North American session and drops to a fresh daily low following the release of the US macro data. Spot prices, however, manage to rebound a few pips in the last hour and now trade with a mild negative bias, around the mid-1.2400s.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported this Thursday that the economic growth decelerated from 2.6% annualized pace to 1.1% during the January-March period, missing estimates for a reading of 2.0%. Further details of the report revealed that the GDP Price Index edged higher to 4% in the same period from 3.9%, compared to estimates for a reading of 3.8%. On a quarterly basis, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Prices rose to 4.2% from 3.7%, indicating an unexpected pickup in price pressures.
Furthermore, data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed that Initial Jobless claims fell to 230K in the week ended April 22 as compared to the 246K previous and the 248K anticipated. This also marks the lowest level in three weeks. Nevertheless, the upbeat macro data reaffirms bets for another 25 bps lift-off at the next FOMC meeting in May and remains supportive of a further rise in the US Treasury bond yields, which underpins the US Dollar (USD) and exerts some pressure on the GBP/USD pair.
The downside, however, remains cushioned, at least for the time being, amid growing acceptance that the Bank of England (BoE) will also hike interest rates by 25 bps in May. This, in turn, warrants some caution before placing aggressive bearish bets around the GBP/USD pair and positioning for any meaningful downside. Traders also seem reluctant and now look forward to Friday's release of the US Core PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, which will play a key role in influencing the near-term USD price dynamics.
Technical levels to watch
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