|

GBP/USD: Boris easing restrictions would let the pound to walk up

GBP/USD has bounced from the lows amid vaccine hopes but dropped amid a souring mood and negative rate talks. With economic indicators taking a pause, the importance of COVID-19 statistics and reopening questions will likely increase, according to FXStreet’s analyst Yohay Elam.

Key quotes

“Loosening decisions depend on coronavirus statistics – which have been trending down – yet at a stubbornly slow rate. Therefore, the daily updates may have a growing impact on the pound. Significant easing of the shuttering has room to boost sterling and baby steps to keep it under pressure.”

“Speculation about negative rates is likely to remain rife, yet Brexit may overtake it. If Britain insists on refusing to lengthen the implementation phase, it will revert to WTO terms in 2021, an unfavorable prospect for investors.” 

“COVID-19 cases have been gradually declining in America, as all 50 states have taken steps to return to normal. Both trends are positive for markets and adverse to the greenback. The mood may change if infections and deaths begin rising and if some authorities reimpose restrictions.”

“The US GDP for the first quarter stands out on Thursday. Economists expect the annualized plunge of 4.8% to be confirmed, owing mostly to a sharp decline in consumption.”

Author

FXStreet Team

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

More from FXStreet Team
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD remains offered; bears target 1.3600

GBP/USD now leaves behind part of its recent recovery and revisits the low 1.3600s at the beginning of the week. Indeed, Cable trades with a mild downward bias amid decent gains in the Greenback as investors remain wary of upcoming US data releases and the Jackson Hole event.

EUR/USD remains sidelined above 1.1650

EUR/USD trades on the defensive following the closing bell on Wall Street on Monday, hovering around the 1.1660 region and adding to Friday’s small decline. The pair’s pullback comes in response to an acceptable rebound in the US Dollar in a context of generalised caution ahead of key US data releases and Chair Warsh’s speech in Jackson Hole.

Gold poised to extend its bullish run

Gold surrenders part of its initial advance, although it keeps its bullish pace well and sound above the $4,600 mark per troy ounce on Monday. The precious metal’s move higher comes despite slight gains in the US Dollar and a modest pullback in US Treasury yields across the curve.

XRP surged 72%, but is the rally really about XRP?
Ripple (XRP) surged more than 72% in less than a week, its strongest rally since July 2025, as cryptocurrency prices broadly broke out. But the move has a problem: it may have little to do with XRP itself. The token's near-term rally appears to have been driven largely by a broader liquidity shift after the US Treasury expanded long-end bond buybacks, pulling yields lower and lifting risk assets.
Convulsion in credit markets
The United States government just posted a $432.3 billion deficit for July, the largest monthly shortfall since March of 2021. That single burst of red ink pushed the yeartodate deficit to $1.8 trillion, with two months still remaining in fiscal 2026. At this pace, Washington will soon wax nostalgic for the “good old days” when annual deficits were only $2 trillion.
$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.