- GBP/USD weakens to near 1.3495 in Monday’s Asian session.
- The Fed’s Powell opened the door to resuming interest rate cuts.
- Hot UK July inflation data diminish the odds of BoE rate reductions this year.
The GBP/USD pair faces some selling pressure around 1.3495 during the Asian session on Monday. The major pair edges lower amid the renewed US Dollar (USD) demand. However, dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell might cap the GBP/USD’s downside. Later on Monday, the US New Home Sales and Chicago Fed National Activity Index data will be published.
Fed’s Powell said on Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium that the central bank is headed for an interest-rate cut as soon as its next policy meeting in September. Powell further stated that the US economy is facing a “challenging situation,” with inflation risks now tilted to the upside and employment risks to the downside. Growing expectations of US Fed rate cuts could weigh on the Greenback and help limit the major pair’s losses.
Traders see an 85% chance of a Fed rate cut next month after Powell signaled at Jackson Hole the Fed may ease before inflation fully returns to target amid a softening jobs market, the CME FedWatch tool showed.
On the GBP’s front, hotter-than-expected UK July inflation data prompted the expectation that the Bank of England (BoE) will delay further interest rate cuts. The BoE cut the interest rates from 4.25% to 4.0% earlier this month as the UK central bank resumed what it describes as a “gradual and careful” approach to monetary easing. A quarter-point cut is not fully priced in until March 2026. In the absence of top-tier UK economic data releases this week, the USD dynamic could drive the major pair’s action in the short term.
