- GBP/USD steadies as traders await preliminary Q1 UK Gross Domestic Product data due on Thursday.
- Traders also await further news on the ongoing Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing.
- US wholesale inflation reached a post-2022 peak in April, as the Producer Price Index surged to a 6.0% annual rate.
GBP/USD holds ground following three days of losses, trading around 1.3520 during the Asian hours on Thursday. Traders await the preliminary UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2026, along with Industrial and Manufacturing Production data due later in the day.
The GBP/USD pair holds ground as the US Dollar (USD) remains firm on market caution as traders await further updates amid the ongoing meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Traders will also shift their focus to the US Retail Sales report for April due later in the day.
As the world’s two largest economies attempt to stabilize their relationship, they are reportedly considering a framework to reduce tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of goods, excluding those tied to national security.
However, geopolitical tensions remain a major factor. The US-China summit has taken place against the backdrop of the war in Iran. Washington has recently increased pressure on Tehran by imposing new sanctions on entities involved in selling Iranian oil to China and threatening banks that facilitate those transactions.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday that wholesale inflation hit its highest level since late 2022. The Producer Price Index (PPI) surged to 6.0% year-over-year in April, up from 4.3% in March and well above the 4.9% expected by the market. On a monthly basis, PPI rose 1.4%, doubling the previous month’s 0.7% and far exceeding the anticipated 0.5% increase.
