The GBP/USD is set to move in the holiday season trading below the 1.49 level having gained in the Asian session as traders bought up the underpriced currency.
The GBP/USD is set to move in the holiday season trading below the 1.49 level having gained in the Asian session as traders bought up the underpriced currency.
The pound traded at $1.4872 late Wednesday, up from $1.4862 ahead of the data. It had weakened against the dollar early in the session after data showed U.K. GDP expanded 0.4% in the third quarter, missing expectations, FX Empire reports on December 28.
Analyst Barry Norman noticed: «The pound’s recent slide has it well off where it stood at the start of the year, when it traded around $1.56. Much of that can be blamed on a climbing greenback: The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, has jumped nearly 9% year to date on rate-hike expectations. Higher interest rates tend to make a country’s currency more attractive to investors hunting for yield».
The Bank of England has kept its benchmark rate at a record low 0.5% since March 2009. Many economists wondered which major central bank — the Fed or the BOE — would be first to raise interest rates since the global financial crisis.
