British Pound holds near 1.3500 as US CPI, UK GDP loom

The British Pound held steady near 1.3500 against the US Dollar on Tuesday, following a release of US job data that was softer than anticipated. Investors were awaiting key economic releases, including US inflation data and UK data on Thursday. Energy prices had been high, but they fell following a Bloomberg headline about possible talks between Pakistan, the US, and Iran.

The US crude benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), moved from near $84.69 to $82.50. Traders were also waiting for the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), with most participants expecting headline inflation to be 3.4% year-over-year in July, down from June's 3.5%. Core CPI was also forecast to drop by the same margin to 2.5%. By Thursday, the US economic calendar would include the Producer Price Index (PPI) and jobless claims.

Across the Atlantic, traders in the UK were preparing for the preliminary reading of the UK's GDP for the second quarter of 2026, with growth expected at 1.1% year-over-year. In the US, analysts cited by Reuters said there was a 52% chance of a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate hike in September. The Pound has not been impacted by the election of Andy Burnham as the UK's new Prime Minister, and traders do not anticipate significant moves ahead of Britain's budget in late October.

The GBP/USD pair was trading at 1.3504, holding a constructive bias and remaining above clustered Simple Moving Averages around 1.3367. The pair was testing an upward trendline pivot near 1.3504, while a Moving Average Triple (simple) cluster beneath hinted at a bullish structure, with the Relative Strength Index (14) at 60.4 indicating firm but not yet overbought upside momentum.

Immediate resistance was at 1.3508, and initial support was seen at the 1.3504 level and the Moving Average Triple cluster near 1.3367.