Sterling’s Oct. 26 listing against the dollar was above its Friday low, as the pound entered a week of Federal Reserve policy and U.S. economic releases.
Investing.com’s daily history listed GBP/USD at 1.3385 on Oct. 26, up 0.05%, and recorded a low of 1.3360 on Oct. 23.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed’s rate-setting panel, meets Oct. 27-28. The Federal Reserve calendar lists its decision at 2 p.m. EDT Oct. 28, followed by a news conference at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The Fed last raised its target range by 0.25 percentage point on Sept. 16, to 3.75%-4.00%. Kiplinger reported Oct. 23 that the CME FedWatch tool showed an 88% probability of no change at the meeting, a futures-based market reading rather than an official Fed forecast.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is scheduled to publish its advance estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product and its September Personal Income and Outlays report on Oct. 29. The report includes the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.
For the U.K., the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said consumer prices rose 3.5% in the 12 months to September, up from 3.1% in the 12 months to August. Transport, especially motor fuels, contributed most to the increase in the annual inflation rate. CME Group said on Oct. 21 that markets priced a 95% chance of the Bank of England (BoE) raising Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage point, to 4.00%, on Nov. 5.
The BoE held Bank Rate at 3.75% in September in a 6-3 vote, with three members favoring a quarter-point increase. The bank’s September Market Participants Survey showed a median modal expectation for the rate to remain at 3.75% after the Nov. 5 meeting. The ONS estimated unemployment at 4.7% for June to August, down 0.1 percentage point from both the previous quarter and a year earlier, and described the labor market as broadly flat. The BoE’s next decision is scheduled for Nov. 5.
