GBP/USD remains volatile after Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole, stays above 1.1800

The GBP/USD seesaws as Fed Chair Powell takes the stand at the Jackson Hole Symposium. During the day, the GBP/USD bounced off a daily low at 1.1775 and rallied sharply to a fresh daily high at 1.1900. However, as Powell finished his speech, the GBP/USD retraced from highs of the days towards the 1.1800 area. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD trades volatile, around the 1.1810 area.

Fed’s Powell remarks

In his speech, Jerome Powell said that the central bank is moving “purposefully” to a sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2% while adding that restoring price stability will take some time, requiring a “forcefully” use of the central bank’s tools.

Powell added that the Federal funds rate at a long-run neutral estimate of 2.25% - 2.50% is “not a place to stop or pause.” He noted that the US central bank would be data-dependent for the September meeting. Even though he mentioned that the Fed will slow the pace of rate hikes, he emphasized that restoring price stability would require keeping a restrictive policy for “some time.”

After Jerome Powell’s remarks, money market futures odds of a Fed 75 bps rate hike increased to 56.5%, vs. 46.5% before the speech. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index recovered some ground after hitting a low at 107.588, recovering the 108.000 figure, but it is still below its opening price.

At the same time, on its final reading, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment came in at 58.2 vs. forecasts of 55.2. Earlier on Friday, the Fed’s favorite measure for inflation rose 0.1% MoM, vs. 0.3% foreseen, while annually based, core PCE decelerated to 4.6% from 4.7%.

GBP/USD Key Technical Levels