GBP/USD trades with mild losses around 1.3275 in Friday’s Asian session.
Easing fears of trade tensions supports the US Dollar.
Traders raise bets of further BoE rate cuts in its May policy meeting.
The GBP/USD pair drifts lower to near 1.3275 during the Asian trading hours on Friday. The positive developments surrounding US-China trade talks provide some support to the US Dollar (USD). Investors will closely monitor the US April employment report later on Friday, including the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), the Unemployment Rate and Average Hourly Earnings.
Early Friday, China said it is assessing the possibility of trade talks with the United States, the first sign since US President Donald Trump raised tariffs in April. The easing of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies and the hope that negotiations could begin between the two sides lift the Greenback and create a headwind for the major pair.
Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that US weekly Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended April 26 rose by 241,000, compared to the previous week of 223K (revised from 222K). This figure came in above the market consensus of 224K. Additionally, the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 48.7 in April versus 49.0 prior, stronger than the 48.0 expected.
The Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey warned that the UK central bank should consider global trade war risk in the fallout of Trump’s tariffs. Concerns over trade policy uncertainty have prompted traders to raise their bets supporting the BoE to cut interest rates in the policy meeting at its May meeting. Financial markets have priced in nearly a 96% chance that the BoE will cut its rate by a quarter-point to 4.25% when it announces its next move on May 8, according to a Reuters poll.
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