British Pound falls towards 1.32 as Fed hawks outshine solid UK growth
- GBP/USD falls 0.38% to 1.3224, extending losses for three days.
- UK Q3 GDP grows 0.7%, but Sterling fails to recover.
- Fed's Hammack warns inflation is worsening ahead of Friday's US PPI.
The Pound Sterling prolongs its agony versus the US Dollar, diving for the third straight day and approaching the 1.3200 level, even as US jobless claims came in above forecasts, while UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data show the economy is growing steadily. The GBP/USD trades at 1.3224, down 0.38%.
GBP/USD extends its losing streak despite solid UK GDP as Fed hawkish rhetoric weighs
Data in the US revealed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose by 200K, above forecasts of 195K and the previous reading of 191K. Despite the rise, Continuing Jobless Claims dipped weekly from 1.717 million to 1.697 million, indicating a solid labour market.
Other data showed that Existing Home Sales dipped -5.5% from 3.97 million to 3.75 million, compared with September’s print.
The data was mostly ignored by investors, who digested comments from Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who said the inflation outlook is worsening while supporting a gradual approach to monetary policy.
Chicago Federal Reserve (Fed) President Austan Goolsbee commented in an interview with Yahoo! Finance that inflation has been “well above target,” and that “hot inflation report wasn’t a one-off.”
In the UK, GDP grew 0.7% in Q3, in line with estimates, yet GBP/USD failed to gain traction after last Tuesday’s hawkish remarks by Fed Governor Waller. The data comes after the Bank of England (BoE) rate hike on November 5, and investors began to price in an additional increase towards the year's end, with odds standing at 75%.
Regarding geopolitics, US President Donald Trump said that the US doesn’t need a deal with Iran. At the same time, he instructed Vice President Vance to focus on domestic issues, rather than trying to seal a peace deal with Tehran.
Ahead, the US economic docket will feature comments by Chicago Fed Goolsbee, NY Fed John Williams and other officials. On Friday, the Producer Price Index (PPI) is expected to be released. A higher-than-foreseen reading could open the door for further tightening.
GBP/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook
In the daily chart, GBP/USD trades at 1.3234, maintaining a bearish near-term tone as spot remains capped beneath the cluster of the 50-, 100- and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) grouped around 1.3346. The pair is holding just above the prior downtrend resistance break near 1.3221, which now acts as immediate support, while the Relative Strength Index (14) at 40.5 stays below the midline, hinting at lingering downside pressure rather than a fully oversold condition.
On the topside, initial resistance emerges at the Triple SMA zone around 1.3346, followed by the descending trend-line barrier tied to the 1.3653 peak, which breaks near 1.3372; a sustained move above these levels would be needed to ease the current bearish bias. On the downside, the first line of support sits at the nearby trend-line break around 1.3221, with the current 1.3234 area acting as a pivotal zone; a daily close below this floor would expose the pair to further weakness while broader resistance levels at 1.3708 and 1.3874 stay well overhead.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Pound Sterling Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.27% | 0.29% | 0.08% | 0.05% | 0.60% | 0.33% | 0.18% | |
| EUR | -0.27% | 0.02% | -0.18% | -0.23% | 0.33% | 0.05% | -0.09% | |
| GBP | -0.29% | -0.02% | -0.19% | -0.23% | 0.31% | 0.04% | -0.11% | |
| JPY | -0.08% | 0.18% | 0.19% | -0.04% | 0.52% | 0.23% | 0.10% | |
| CAD | -0.05% | 0.23% | 0.23% | 0.04% | 0.55% | 0.27% | 0.14% | |
| AUD | -0.60% | -0.33% | -0.31% | -0.52% | -0.55% | -0.27% | -0.42% | |
| NZD | -0.33% | -0.05% | -0.04% | -0.23% | -0.27% | 0.27% | -0.11% | |
| CHF | -0.18% | 0.09% | 0.11% | -0.10% | -0.14% | 0.42% | 0.11% |
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).
Author
Christian Borjon Valencia
FXStreet
Markets analyst, news editor, and trading instructor with over 14 years of experience across FX, commodities, US equity indices, and global macro markets.
