British Pound recovers as Fed holds rates amid hawkish split
- GBP/USD recovers toward 1.3300 following the Fed's widely expected hold.
- Cook and Hammack dissent, favoring a 25-basis-point rate hike.
- Fed acknowledges resilient growth and employment but warns inflation remains elevated.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) recovers some ground after the Federal Reserve (Fed) held rates unchanged on Wednesday, as markets expected, in a 10–2 vote, with two dissenters voting for a rate increase. At the time of writing, GBP/USD trades near 1.3300 after hitting a low of 1.3272 before the Fed announcement.
GBP/USD recovers toward 1.3300 as the Fed pauses despite two dissenters favoring higher rates
The Fed acknowledged that economic activity is expanding, that domestic spending has been resilient, that productivity growth is strong and that capital investment is robust. Regarding its mandate on employment, the Fed noted that “Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little.”
Regarding inflation, the central bank said it remains elevated but decided to skip rate hikes to gather more information and better assess an appropriate policy stance.
The two dissenters in the meeting were Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who supported a 25-basis-point rate hike.
GBP/USD reaction to Fed’s decision
Price action was broadly stable, as the outcome was expected. GBP/USD hovers near 1.3305, with the next resistance seen at 1.3312, the high of the day, while the first support is the low of the day at 1.3272.
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 New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.11% | 0.02% | 0.21% | -0.08% | -0.15% | 1.12% | 0.11% | |
| EUR | 0.11% | 0.13% | 0.32% | 0.04% | -0.05% | 1.23% | 0.21% | |
| GBP | -0.02% | -0.13% | 0.19% | -0.10% | -0.18% | 1.08% | 0.08% | |
| JPY | -0.21% | -0.32% | -0.19% | -0.31% | -0.36% | 0.92% | -0.11% | |
| CAD | 0.08% | -0.04% | 0.10% | 0.31% | -0.05% | 1.22% | 0.20% | |
| AUD | 0.15% | 0.05% | 0.18% | 0.36% | 0.05% | 1.27% | 0.26% | |
| NZD | -1.12% | -1.23% | -1.08% | -0.92% | -1.22% | -1.27% | -1.02% | |
| CHF | -0.11% | -0.21% | -0.08% | 0.11% | -0.20% | -0.26% | 1.02% |
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.
