British Pound slides towards 1.32 as hawkish Fed sentiment overshadows solid UK growth

Losses in GBP/USD stretch to three days as the pair slides 0.38% to 1.3224.
Sterling finds no support despite UK Q3 GDP growth of 0.7%.
Ahead of Friday's US PPI, Fed's Hammack flags a worsening inflation outlook.

Selling pressure continues to weigh on the Pound Sterling against the US Dollar, with the pair dropping for a third consecutive day towards 1.3200. Neither higher-than-expected US jobless claims nor UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures pointing to steady economic growth have arrested the decline. GBP/USD is trading 0.38% lower at 1.3224.

TMGM Analysis: Financial Market News, Economic Calendar & Market Insights

Why Is GBP/USD Still Falling Despite Solid UK GDP and Hawkish Fed Signals?

A resilient labour market remained evident in US figures, despite a rise of 200K in the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits, against a forecast of 195K and the previous reading of 191K. Continuing Jobless Claims, however, declined from 1.717 million to 1.697 million over the week.

Separately, Existing Home Sales recorded a -5.5% change from September's reading, falling from 3.97 million to 3.75 million.

Rather than reacting to the data, investors largely focused on remarks from Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack. She described the inflation outlook as worsening and backed a gradual approach to monetary policy.

In an interview with Yahoo! Finance, Chicago Federal Reserve (Fed) President Austan Goolsbee said inflation had been “well above target,” adding that “hot inflation report wasn’t a one-off.”

Sterling also struggled to find support from UK GDP growth of 0.7% in Q3, which matched estimates. GBP/USD remained unable to build momentum following last Tuesday's hawkish comments from Fed Governor Waller. The figures follow the Bank of England (BoE) rate hike on November 5. Investors have begun factoring in another increase towards the end of the year, assigning it a 75% probability.

On the geopolitical front, Vice President Vance was instructed by US President Donald Trump to prioritise domestic matters instead of pursuing a peace agreement with Tehran. Trump also said the US does not need a deal with Iran.

Comments from Chicago Fed's Goolsbee, NY Fed's John Williams and other officials are next on the US economic calendar. Friday is expected to bring the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI); a reading above expectations could pave the way for additional tightening.

GBP/USD Price Forecast: Can Support Withstand the Bearish Pressure?

Chart Analysis GBP/USD — Daily price chart for GBP/USD

A bearish near-term bias persists on the daily chart, where GBP/USD is trading at 1.3234 below the 50-, 100- and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs), clustered near 1.3346. Immediate support is provided by the former downtrend resistance around 1.3221, which the pair previously broke above and is now holding just above. With the Relative Strength Index (14) below its midline at 40.5, the signal points to continued downward pressure rather than a fully oversold market.

For the bearish bias to ease, the pair would need a sustained advance beyond initial resistance at the Triple SMA zone near 1.3346 and the descending trend-line barrier linked to the 1.3653 peak, whose break lies near 1.3372. Support first comes into view at the nearby trend-line break around 1.3221, while the current 1.3234 region remains pivotal. A daily close beneath this floor would leave GBP/USD vulnerable to further declines. Broader resistance at 1.3708 and 1.3874 remains well above current levels.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)

How Is the Pound Sterling Performing Today?

The British Pound (GBP) performed best against the Australian Dollar today. Its percentage movements against the major currencies listed are set out in the table below.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.27%	0.29%	0.08%	0.05%	0.60%	0.33%	0.18%
EUR	-0.27%		0.02%	-0.18%	-0.23%	0.33%	0.05%	-0.09%
GBP	-0.29%	-0.02%		-0.19%	-0.23%	0.31%	0.04%	-0.11%
JPY	-0.08%	0.18%	0.19%		-0.04%	0.52%	0.23%	0.10%
CAD	-0.05%	0.23%	0.23%	0.04%		0.55%	0.27%	0.14%
AUD	-0.60%	-0.33%	-0.31%	-0.52%	-0.55%		-0.27%	-0.42%
NZD	-0.33%	-0.05%	-0.04%	-0.23%	-0.27%	0.27%		-0.11%
CHF	-0.18%	0.09%	0.11%	-0.10%	-0.14%	0.42%	0.11%

Percentage movements between major currencies are displayed in the heat map. Select the base currency in the left-hand column and the quote currency in the top row. For instance, choosing the British Pound on the left and reading across to the US Dollar gives the percentage change for GBP (base)/USD (quote) in the corresponding cell.