GBP/USD retreats to lower half of weekly range, holds above 1.4100
- GBP/USD edges lower during the American trading hours.
- US Dollar Index extends recovery beyond 90.00 on Wednesday.
- Investors await Thursday’s key data releases from the US.
The renewed USD strength in the second half of the day forced the GBP/USD pair to turn south and dragged it toward the lower limit of its weekly range. As of writing, the pair was down 0.25% on the day at 1.4115.
DXY rebound continues
In the absence of high-tier macroeconomic data releases, a more-than-1% increase seen in the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield seems to be helping the greenback outperform its rivals. The US Dollar Index, which closed the first two trading days of the week in the negative territory, is currently up 0.47% on the day at 90.10.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned negative on the day after opening higher, helping the USD preserve its strength.
There won’t be any data releases from the UK on Thursday and the USD’s market valuation is likely to continue to drive GBP/USD’s movements in the near term. Later in the day, the US economic docket will feature Durable Goods Orders, first-quarter GDP (second estimate) and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims data.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummins accused the PM of mismanaging the coronavirus crisis. Cummins said PM Johnson kept on talking about keeping the beaches open and added that he heard the PM saying “let the bodies pile high” while deciding whether or not to extend lockdowns late-2020. The rising political tensions seem to be hurting the GBP as well.