The British pound today fell against the US dollar following the release of the disappointing UK inflation data for August early in the UK session. The GBP/USD currency fell from 8-week highs reached yesterday as investors sold the pound ahead of the much-anticipated FOMC announcement.
The GBP/USD currency pair today fell from an opening high of 1.2506 to a low of 1.2440 and had recovered slightly at the time of writing.
The currency pair fell at the start of today’s session before trading sideways into the early London session. However, the pair fell following the release of the UK consumer price index for August by the Office for National Statistics. The CPI print came in at an annualised 1.7% missing expectations set at 1.9%, while the monthly data came in at 0.4% versus the expected 0.5% print. The release of the weak producer price index data for August also contributed to the pair’s decline as both prints missed consensus estimates. The monthly PPI-output print came in at -0.1% missing analysts’ expectations set at 0.2% as did the other prints. The positive retail price index report could not lift the pair.
The fact that Brexit talks between Britain and the EU are stuck, according to Michel Barnier, also drove the cable lower. The upbeat US housing starts data released by the Census Bureau in the early American session also contributed to the pair’s decline.
The currency pair’s future performance is likely to be influenced by the FOMC announcement scheduled for 18:00 GMT.
The GBP/USD currency pair was trading at 1.2470 as at 13:29 GMT having fallen from a high of 1.2506. The GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at 134.90 having dropped from a high of 135.23.
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