GBP/USD holds steady above 1.2100 mark, looks to US PCE Price Index for fresh impetus
|- GBP/USD lacks firm intraday direction and oscillates in a narrow range on Friday.
- Hawkish Fed expectations continue to lend support to the USD and cap the upside.
- Bets that the BoE will maintain the status quo in November and act as a headwind.
The GBP/USD pair struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish rebound from the 1.2070 area, or over a three-week low and seesaws between tepid gains/minor losses during the Asian session on Friday. Spot prices, meanwhile, manage to hold comfortably above the 1.2100 round-figure mark and remain at the mercy of the US Dollar (USD) price dynamics.
Signs of easing inflationary pressures in the United States (US), to a larger extent, overshadowed the upbeat GDP print, showing that the economy grew at its fastest pace since 2021 and led to the overnight pullback in the US Treasury bond yields. This, in turn, keeps the USD bulls on the defensive and is seen lending some support to the GBP/USD pair. Any meaningful USD downfall, however, still seems elusive amid growing acceptance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will stick to its hawkish stance.
The incoming US macro data continues to point to a still resilient economy, defying dire warnings of recession, and should allow the Fed to keep interest rates higher. This should help limit the downside for the US bond yields and act as a tailwind for the Greenback. Apart from this, expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will keep interest rates on hold at a 15-year high of 5.25% on November 2 might hold back traders from placing bullish bets around the British Pound and cap the GBP/USD pair.
This makes it prudent to wait for strong follow-through buying before confirming that spot prices have formed a near-term bottom and positioning for any meaningful appreciating move. Investors might also prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of Friday's release of the US PCE Price Index, which will influence expectations about the Fed's future rate-hike path, which will drive the USD demand and provide some impetus to the GBP/USD pair ahead of next week's key central bank event risks.
Technical levels to watch
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