GBP/USD retreats below 1.4100 amid US dollar pick up

GBP/USD edges lower to 1.4060 while trimming the early Asian gains ahead of Thursday’s London open. The cable dropped the most in nearly two weeks the previous day amid the US CPI-led US dollar strength despite strong UK data. The bearish impulse stays on the table amid a light calendar, also ignored mixed catalysts from the Bank of England (BOE) and concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19).

King Dollar remains firm…

Having jumped the most in two months, due to the strong US Consumer Price Index (CPI)-led risk-off mood, the US dollar index (DXY) picks up bids to 90.75 amid fresh challenges to market sentiment. Among them, CNN’s news quoting a leading Democratic economist Larry Summers, while warning the White House on the ‘overheating’ issue, gains major attention. Also on the same side could be the US Federal Reserve (Fed) policymaker’s failed attempt to placate bears and escalating geopolitical tension in the Middle East.

At home, Bank of England (BOE) Chief Economist Andy Haldane said, per the Daily Mail UK, “Britain's economy will bounce back from Covid-19 like a 'tennis ball', putting the country at the top of the G7 growth league.” The policymaker also eyes double-digit GDP growth while signaling an above 2.0% target inflation during early Thursday. The same should strengthen the reflation woes in the UK and could be cited as an invisible catalyst for the pound’s latest weakness.

Elsewhere, a tripling of the Indian variant of the covid in a week probes UK PM Borish Johnson’s June 21 deadline for lockdown. This, however, doesn’t stop Johnson from announcing an independent inquiry into covid handing in 2022.

Brexit remains a pain for the UK, as well as the European Union (EU), as the ex-neighbors recently fight over the Northern Ireland (NI) protocol wherein the UK warns the bloc to ease its demands or face the consequences.

Amid these plays, stock futures remain mildly bid amid covid vaccine optimism but the US 10-year Treasury yield drops 1.8 basis points (bps) to 1.68% by the press time.

Moving on, BOE Governor Andrew Bailey is again up for a speech and traders keep searching for monetary policy-specific headlines to consider it as the key event. On the other hand, the US weekly jobless claims and Producer Price Index (PPI) may entertain traders but the GBP/USD bulls are less likely to return.

Technical analysis

Wednesday’s losses pulled the GBP/USD prices back from a five-week-old rising channel’s resistance line near 1.4165, coupled with bearish MACD. Hence, the quote’s further losses towards late April top surrounding 1.4010, quickly followed by the 1.4000 threshold, can’t be ruled out.