British Pound drops against US Dollar, Fed-BoE policy in focus

The British Pound declines further against the US Dollar amid uncertainty surrounding the Fed’s policy announcement.
Both the Fed and the BoE are expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday.
US President Trump calls for interest rate cuts from the Fed.

Sagar Dua FXStreet

The British Pound (GBP) extends its decline against the US Dollar (USD) to near 1.3277 during the European trading session on Tuesday, the lowest level seen in over three weeks. The GBP/USD pair faces selling pressure as the US Dollar rises further, with investors turning cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

US Dollar Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.03%	0.06%	0.11%	-0.12%	0.35%	0.09%	0.03%
EUR	-0.03%		0.03%	0.09%	-0.13%	0.32%	0.08%	0.00%
GBP	-0.06%	-0.03%		0.07%	-0.15%	0.31%	0.06%	0.00%
JPY	-0.11%	-0.09%	-0.07%		-0.23%	0.24%	-0.01%	-0.05%
CAD	0.12%	0.13%	0.15%	0.23%		0.49%	0.20%	0.17%
AUD	-0.35%	-0.32%	-0.31%	-0.24%	-0.49%		-0.23%	-0.32%
NZD	-0.09%	-0.08%	-0.06%	0.00%	-0.20%	0.23%		-0.05%
CHF	-0.03%	-0.01%	0.00%	0.05%	-0.17%	0.32%	0.05%

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 US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).

In European trade, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the Greenback's value against six major currencies, posts a fresh monthly high at 101.64.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders see a 62% chance that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.50%-3.75% in the policy announcement on Wednesday. Investors will closely track the policy announcement and Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s press conference to know whether the central bank’s decision will lean towards United States (US) President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.

On Monday, US President Trump urged Fed Chair Warsh to lower interest rates, adding that there was a good inflation report recently, costs were falling rapidly, and that prices should drop significantly once the Gulf War ends.

On the Pound Sterling front, investors await the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy announcement on Thursday. The BoE is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75%, with a 7-2 majority. The major focus of financial markets will be on commentary on inflation and the economic outlook.

Economic Indicator

Fed Interest Rate Decision

The Federal Reserve (Fed) deliberates on monetary policy and makes a decision on interest rates at eight pre-scheduled meetings per year. It has two mandates: to keep inflation at 2%, and to maintain full employment. Its main tool for achieving this is by setting interest rates – both at which it lends to banks and banks lend to each other. If it decides to hike rates, the US Dollar (USD) tends to strengthen as it attracts more foreign capital inflows. If it cuts rates, it tends to weaken the USD as capital drains out to countries offering higher returns. If rates are left unchanged, attention turns to the tone of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement, and whether it is hawkish (expectant of higher future interest rates), or dovish (expectant of lower future rates).

AUD/USD keeps range near mid-0.7100s as USD bulls await US CPI

AUD/USD steadies near mid-0.7100s in the Asian session on Friday, stalling the previous day's sharp decline to an over one-week low. The August PPI report reaffirmed Fed rate-hike bets and boosted the US Dollar on Thursday, which weighed heavily on the pair. However, hawkish RBA expectations limited losses for the Aussie as USD bulls now await the release of the US consumer inflation figures before placing fresh bets.

USD/JPY holds lower ground toward 154.00; looks to US CPI

USD/JPY holds lower ground toward 154.00 in the Asian session on Friday after hot Japanese PPI data bolster a more hawkish BoJ repricing and provide fresh impetus to the Japanese Yen. However, the downside appears capped as the US Dollar preserves overnight gains ahead of the latest US consumer inflation data.

Gold rebounds and retargets $4,400

Gold regains composure and trades with decent gains on Friday, managing to refocus in attention to the $4,440 mark per ounce troy. Therefore, the precious metal reverses Thursday’s decline amid a marginal retracement in the US Dollar after the release of August inflation print.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP extends decline as returning ETF inflows fail to lift outlook

Ripple (XRP) falls below $1.33 on Friday, marking the third consecutive day of declines. The token continues to track the broader cryptocurrency market downturn, with investors closely monitoring heightened macroeconomic uncertainty ahead of the United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) release and next week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy decision.

Weekly focus – The hawks set the tone

Risky assets came under pressure this week as energy prices kept creeping higher and the ECB surprised the markets with a hawkish tone. The price of Brent crude touched USD 110 per barrel on Thursday night, highest since mid-May, as news emerged that the Yemeni Houthis had reached control of key port cities and islands near the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Venezuela’s 65-billion-barrel Oil deal could reshape America’s inflation fight

The United States (US) has secured unprecedented access to part of Venezuela’s vast Oil reserves. The timing is particularly significant as the war with Iran is disrupting Middle Eastern supplies, keeping energy prices elevated and reviving concerns about inflation.