GBP/USD inches higher due to improved market optimism

GBP/USD holds position around 1.3200 ahead of UK PM Starmer’s speech

GBP/USD inches higher following the easing of the concerns about an imminent broader conflict in the Middle East have diminished following an exchange of fire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah that did not escalate further. US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Reuters early Tuesday after concluding a three-day trip to the region. The risk-sensitive GBP/USD pair trades around 1.3190 during Tuesday’s Asian hours.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell stated at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday, “The time has come for policy to adjust.” However, Powell did not specify when rate cuts would begin or their potential size. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are fully anticipating at least a 25 basis point (bps) rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its September meeting. Read more…

GBPUSD slips back below 1.32 on thin Monday volumes

GBP/USD trimmed recent gains to kick off the new trading week, slipping back below the 1.3200 handle on Monday and wrapping up a seven-day winning streak that took the pair up over 3% from 1.2800 to a 29-month high of 1.3230.

UK markets were shuttered on Monday for a banking holiday, leaving Pound Sterling flows thin and giving the Greenback a further boost. Markets are paring back recent risk appetite after a splurge on the heels of the Federal Reserve all but confirming that rate cuts were coming in September, barring any drastic shifts in economic data. Read more…