British Pound (GBP) Latest; GBP/USD Stalls, GBP/NZD Prints a 3-Year+ High

• US dollar downgrade not showing in USD-crosses today.
• GBP/NZD multi-year high as NZ unemployment grows.

GBP/USD took little notice of the downgrade and remained stuck in a narrow trading band. Sterling traders are waiting for Thursday’s latest BoE policy decision, with markets expecting a 25 basis point rate hike. This would push UK borrowing costs to their highest level in 15 years. Alongside the rate decision, the Bank of England will also publish their quarterly Monetary Policy Report which will show the central bank’s latest economic analysis and inflation projections.

Cable (GBP/USD) is trading around 1.2750 with little to move it higher or lower ahead of tomorrow’s decision. The chart now shows the pair back under the 20-day simple moving average after breaking lower at the end of last week. The next levels of support are seen at 1.2667 and 1.2547.

GBP/USD DAILY PRICE CHART – AUGUST 2, 2023

Retail trader data shows 53.07% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders long to short at 1.13 to 1. 

GBP/USD BEARISH

Data provided by

58% of clients are net long.

CHANGE IN	LONGS	SHORTS	OI
DAILY	6%	-3%	1%
WEEKLY	-4%	-14%	-9%

The New Zealand dollar weakened further today after the latest jobs report showed the unemployment rate moving unexpectedly higher, while labour costs fell. A weaker labour market should push NZ inflation lower and give the central bank more time to leave rates unchanged.

The New Zealand dollar has been weakening against the British Pound since the start of February when the pair traded around 1.8900. GBP/NZD posted a fresh three-year high of 2.0959 today. The move higher is supported by all three simple moving averages and while GBP/NZD may be in overbought territory, using the CCI indicator, it is not excessive. It seems that the pair may continue to grind higher, barring any unexpected news from the BoE tomorrow.

GBP/NZD DAILY PRICE CHART – AUGUST 2, 2023