The British pound today declined against the US dollar despite the release of the second estimate UK GDP data for Q1 2018, which met expectations. The Sterling pound was on a downtrend against the greenback from the Asian session, but rallied slightly following the GDP report before heading lower.
The GBP/USD currency pair today declined from a high of 1.3384 to a low of 1.3310 losing over 70 points as at the time of writing.
The currency pair was on a downtrend from the start of today’s session before the release of the UK GDP data by the Office for National Statistics. The preliminary GDP report estimated quarterly growth at 0.1% and annualized growth at 1.2%, which was in line with expectations. Further releases from the UK docket indicated that business investment contracted by 0.1% in Q1, which meant that it expanded at an annualized 2.0%. The index of services expanded by 0.1% in March and a quarterly 0.3%; both prints met expectations. The UK’s private consumption and government spending were both higher than expected.
The release of the US durable goods orders by the Census Bureau early in the American session triggered a brief rally in the currency pair. The durable goods orders contracted by 1.7% in April versus the expected 1.3% contraction. However, the durable goods orders excluding transportation beat expectations limiting the pair’s rally.
The currency pair’s short-term performance is likely to be influenced by speeches from BoE Governor Mark Carney and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell as well as the University of Michigan consumer survey.
The GBP/USD currency pair was trading at 1.3310 as at 13:53 GMT having dropped from a high of 1.3384. The GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at 145.32 having declined from a high of 146.72.
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