Pound Holds, Market Holds Breath
The GBP/USD exchange rate moved steadily around 1.3430 in Asian trading on Tuesday. The pair held steady after posting modest gains the previous day. Market participants tended to be cautious while awaiting the release of UK labor market data, as well as inflation and retail sales data due out soon.
From the UK, the unemployment rate is expected to fall slightly to 5%, while wage growth is predicted to slow. Meanwhile, the pound received support from the weakening US dollar due to political tensions over Greenland. US President Donald Trump's threat of new tariffs against several European countries and the UK also weighed on dollar sentiment and raised concerns of a trade war.
However, the pound's gains could be limited as the US dollar is still supported by strong US jobs data. This has pushed expectations of a Fed interest rate cut back until mid-year. Some analysts now expect new interest rate cuts to occur in June and September, so the next direction of GBP/USD will depend heavily on economic data and global political developments. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
