GBP/USD trades stronger above 1.3350 amid dovish Fed and softer US PCE data

• GBP/USD remains firm around 1.3385 in Monday’s early Asian session. 
• August US PCE inflation eased to within reach of the Fed target. 
• The BoE is expected to cut interest rates once by the year-end.

The GBP/USD pair holds positive ground near 1.3385 during the early Asian session on Monday. Expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the less dovish stance of the Bank of England’s (BoE) less dovish rate cut bets provide some support to the major pair. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak later on Monday. 

US inflation has cooled to a pace nearer to the Fed’s 2% target. The headline Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose by 2.2% year-over-year in August, compared to 2.5% in July, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed on Friday. This figure was softer than the estimations of 2.3%. The core PCE climbed 2.7% in August, in line with the consensus.

On a monthly basis, the PCE Price Index increased by 0.1% in the same report period. Interest rate futures contracts have priced in a nearly 54% chance of a half-point cut in November, versus a 46% possibility of a quarter-point cut, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. 

The upside of the Pound Sterling (GBP) is supported by the anticipation that the BoE rate-cutting cycle is likely to be slower than in the United States (US). This, in turn, acts as a tailwind for GBP/USD. Amid the lack of top-tier UK economic data released from the UK docket this week, the GBP will be influenced by market expectations for the BoE monetary policy action for the remainder of the year.