British Pound Weakens Against US Dollar amid UK Politics and Strong US Data

The British pound today came under increased selling pressure after the release of positive US GDP data by the Bureau of Economic Analysis as well as personal consumption data. The British pound was under intense selling pressure today as UK politics take center stage given that the Conservative Party has lost significant ground against the Labor Party.

The GBP/USD currency pair lost over 150 points at the height of its decline today and was on a downward trend at the time of writing.

The furor around Prime Minster Theresa May‘s dementia tax plan has seen the British pound lose significant ground against its major peers over the last few days. A YouGov poll conducted on behalf of The Times indicated that Mrs. May’s Conservative Party has lost significant ground against the Labor Party. According to the poll, the conservatives have a slim five point lead against Jeremy Corbyn‘s Labor Party.

The positive US GDP data, which was reported at an annualized figure of 1.2% for the first quarter versus the expected 0.9% and the previous 0.7%, also increased the selling pressure on the pair. The core personal consumption expenditure also came in at 2.1% versus the expected and previous 2.0%. The durable goods orders for April were also reported at -0.75, which was lower than the expected -1.5%, and the previous 2.3%.

The currency pair is likely to be affected by future political developments in the United Kingdom as well as the US consumer confidence data scheduled for release on Tuesday.

The GBP/USD was trading at 1.2783 as at 15:32 GMT having opened the day’s session trading at 1.2929. The GBP/JPY was trading at 142.21 having opened the day’s session trading at 144.46.

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