The pound has held steady against its two main rivals, particularly the euro and the greenback. Analysts say that lack of new data to shift momentum has kept sterling trade in consolidation mode. The pound has been one of the best performing currencies among the G10 group, with only the Canadian dollar besting it, and that due largely to its role as a commodity-linked currency. The pound's rise has been primarily a factor of the government's aggressive efforts to get its population vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus in order to hasten the pace of reopening. The UK economy's recovery is the offshoot of the efforts of the prime minister's administration.
In London trading as of 11:16 am, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.4169, a gain of 0.1492%, with the pair ranging from a low of $1.41326 to a peak of $1.41752 in today's session. The EUR/GBP was trading lower at 0.8637 pence, down 0.17%, off the session peak of 0.86670 pence, while the low was at 0.86377 pence.
Markets to Focus on Upcoming US Data
With very little of note on the economic calendar for today, market focus will turn to tomorrow's release of preliminary GDP data and fresh labor data from the US. Analysts recently polled expect that the US Labor Department will report that both initial and continuing jobless claims will have fallen in the relevant two-week reporting period to 425,000 (from 444,000) and 3.68 million (from 3.751 million). On an annualized basis, economists expect to see preliminary first-quarter GDP rise to 6.5% from the previous 6.4% Also due out tomorrow are durable goods orders figures, with expectations that April's numbers will come in at 0.7%, while non-defense durable goods (which don't include aircraft data) will come in at 0.7%.