Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD gains traction to near 1.3390 on Wednesday

British Pound gains ground to near 1.3400 ahead of US CPI release

The GBP/USD pair trades in positive territory around 1.3390 during the early European trading hours on Wednesday. Markets might turn cautious later in the day ahead of the US May Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report. On Friday, the monthly UK Gross Domestic Product data will be in the spotlight.

Financial markets had expected the Bank of England (BoE) to cut interest rates twice this year to 3.25%. Since the US-Iran war began, the situation has reversed, and now a rise of 25 basis points (bpd) before December is projected, according to CNBC. Read more...

British Pound consolidates below 1.3400 vs USD amid fresh Iran tensions, ahead of US CPI

The GBP/USD pair struggles to capitalize on its recovery gains recorded over the past two days, from a three-week low, and oscillates in a narrow band during the Asian session on Wednesday. Spot prices currently trade around the 1.3365-1.3370 area, nearly unchanged for the day, as traders opt to wait for further developments surrounding the Middle East crisis and the release of the latest US consumer inflation figures.

The US military launched strikes against Iran, as ordered by US President Donald Trump, in retaliation for the shooting down of an American helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. Adding to this, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US to leave the region or face consequences, and said that Iran's armed forces would not leave any attack or threat unanswered. Adding to this, the lack of progress in US-Iran negotiations tempers hopes for a peace deal and keeps geopolitical risks in play, which is seen benefiting the US Dollar's (USD) relative safe-haven status and acting as a headwind for the GBP/USD pair. Read more...

British Pound Sterling tries retail therapy, hits the usual ceiling

Sterling finally got a piece of good domestic news and managed to enjoy it for about half a session. GBP/USD rallied from just below 1.3350 to a touch above 1.3400 on Tuesday, tagged the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), and spent the rest of the day leaking back beneath the figure. The bounce was real, the rejection was cleaner, and the week's actual main event has not even happened yet.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported like-for-like retail sales up 3.4% YoY in May, miles above the 0.6% consensus and a full reversal of April's 3.4% decline. It is a genuinely strong print, and also a thin one. A shop survey swinging seven points in a month says as much about base effects and calendar quirks as it does about a consumer renaissance, and the Bank of England (BoE) will not reprice policy off it. Neither did the market: the pop had fully faded within hours. Read more...