British Pound decline against US Dollar, eyes on key US data
- The British Pound falls to near 1.3234 against the US Dollar amid surging US bond yields.
- Higher job postings by US employers in May indicate an improvement in labor demand.
- Investors await key US data and Fed Warsh’s speech.
The British Pound (GBP) is down 0.22% to near 1.3234 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Wednesday. The GBP/USD pair trades lower as surging United States (US) Treasury Yields have strengthened the US Dollar (USD).
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.20% | 0.15% | 0.05% | 0.16% | 0.42% | 0.05% | 0.15% | |
| EUR | -0.20% | -0.05% | -0.15% | -0.03% | 0.23% | -0.17% | -0.04% | |
| GBP | -0.15% | 0.05% | -0.11% | 0.00% | 0.23% | -0.12% | 0.02% | |
| JPY | -0.05% | 0.15% | 0.11% | 0.09% | 0.37% | -0.03% | 0.10% | |
| CAD | -0.16% | 0.03% | -0.01% | -0.09% | 0.27% | -0.14% | 0.00% | |
| AUD | -0.42% | -0.23% | -0.23% | -0.37% | -0.27% | -0.40% | -0.26% | |
| NZD | -0.05% | 0.17% | 0.12% | 0.03% | 0.14% | 0.40% | 0.14% | |
| CHF | -0.15% | 0.04% | -0.02% | -0.10% | -0.00% | 0.26% | -0.14% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
During European trade, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades 0.2% higher to near 101.36. 10-year US Treasury Yields are up 0.1% to near 4.67% after surging 2% on Tuesday.
Improving US labor market conditions have prompted US bond yields. On Tuesday, the US JOLTS Job Openings data for May showed that employers posted 7.594 million fresh jobs, higher than estimates of 7.3 million and the previous reading of 7.585 million.
Meanwhile, investors brace for more volatility in GBP/USD as the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for June is scheduled to be released on Thursday.
In Wednesday’s session, market participants will focus on the US ADP Employment Change and ISM Manufacturing PMI data for June, and Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh's speech during the North American session.
The impact of the Fed Warsh’s commentary is expected to be limited on US interest rate expectations, as he signaled in the monetary policy press conference that forward-looking guidance in the current policy conjuncture is not feasible.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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