Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD extends its downside to around 1.3490

FXStreet Team FXStreet

GBP/USD softens to below 1.3500 ahead of UK Retail Sales release

The GBP/USD pair extends the decline to near 1.3490 during the Asian trading hours on Friday, pressured by renewed US Dollar (USD) demand. Traders prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of US President Donald Trump's tariff deadline and the Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting next week. Later on Friday, the release of the UK June Retail Sales report will take center stage.

Uncertainty over interest-rate cuts by the US central bank curbed risk appetite, which undermines the Pound Sterling (GBP). Traders reduce their bets that the Fed will deliver a rate cut in the July meeting, expecting less than two reductions this year as jobless claims fell for six consecutive weeks. Read more...

GBP/USD heads into Friday on the backfoot after PMI data miss

GBP/USD spoiled a three-day winning streak on Thursday, crumbling away from the 1.3600 handle and backsliding down to 1.3500. Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data from both the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) split markets down the middle, with US Services PMI figures beating the street and June’s UK PMI numbers broadly missing the mark.

Heading into the last trading session of the week, Cable traders find themselves on the back foot, but with one last shot at a data-fueled upswing, assuming UK economic figures will play ball. UK Retail Sales for June are expected to rebound to 1.2% MoM following May’s sharp -2.7% decline. Read more...

GBP/USD retreats from 1.3600 on strong US jobs data

The GBP/USD rally stalls as the Greenback stages a recovery, pushing the pair down over 0.24% after registering three straight days of gains that fell short of cracking the 1.3600 figure. Positive economic data in the US triggered a reaction from investors, who trimmed the odds of additional cuts by the Federal Reserve. The pair trades at 1.3548.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the number of claims for the week ending July 19 fell short of estimates, coming in at 217,000, below the 227,000 forecast by analysts, down from 221,000 registered the previous week. Although it’s the lowest level seen since mid-April, Continuing Claims were little changed at 1.96 million, hovering around the highest levels since 2021, which suggests that unemployed workers are struggling to find new jobs. Read more...

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