GBP/USD steadies as traders adopt caution ahead of Powell’s speech

GBP/USD maintains position above 1.3400 ahead of Fed Powell’s speech

GBP/USD moves little after four days of losses, trading around 1.3410 during the Asian hours on Friday. The pair faced challenges as the US Dollar (USD) gained ground following the key economic data from the United States (US) released on Thursday. Traders await Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming to gain clues on the September policy outlook.

The preliminary S&P Global US Composite PMI picked up pace in August, with the index at 55.4 versus 55.1 prior. Meanwhile, the US Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3 from 49.8 prior, surpassing the market consensus of 49.5. Services PMI eased to 55.4 from 55.7 previous reading, but was stronger than the 54.2 expected. Moreover, US Initial Jobless Claims rose to 235K for the previous week, an eight-week high and above the consensus estimate of 225K, suggesting some softening in labor market conditions. Read more…

GBP/USD extends losing streak as strong US PMI fuels Dollar strength, Jackson Hole in focus

The British Pound (GBP) extends its decline for the fourth consecutive day against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, with GBP/USD slipping below the 1.3450 level. At the time of writing, the pair is trading near 1.3435, weighed down by a stronger Greenback and diverging economic signals.

The US Dollar strengthened across the board after the upbeat Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data, with the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the value of the Greenback against a basket of major currencies, rising sharply to a fresh weekly high around 98.50. Read more…