GBP/USD held steady around 1.3230 on Thursday as traders processed the UK’s autumn budget. The US markets were closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday, which led to low trading activity. As it stands, the pair is flat at 1.3232, showing little movement.
Sterling remains stable during quiet Thanksgiving trading amid Fed rate cut expectations
European stock markets showed a positive trend, following Wall Street’s green finish on Wednesday, just before the long weekend. UK Prime Minister Rachel Reeves introduced her autumn budget.
Analysts mentioned concerns from Reuters that “slowing growth, weak productivity, and ongoing inflation don’t provide a welcoming investment environment.” However, Mr. Reeves’ budget was generally viewed positively by the market, even though the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded economic growth forecasts for 2025.
This news is somewhat negative for the British pound (GBP), while the US dollar (USD) is facing pressure as there are speculations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) may cut interest rates during their meeting on December 9-10.
The probability of a 25 basis point cut by the Fed remains at 85%, unchanged from the previous day.
Additionally, new U.S. jobless claims for the week ending November 22 increased to 216,000, which was lower than the expected 225,000, indicating that the labor market remains robust, even amidst indications of weakness.
Continuing claims for the week ending November 15 also rose slightly, from 1.95 million to 1.96 million. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the USD against six currencies, remained steady at 99.57.
GBP/USD Price Chart – Daily
This week’s British pound performance
The table below illustrates the weekly percentage change in the British Pound (GBP) against major currencies, highlighting its strength against the US dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | Australian Dollar | New Zealand Dollar | Swiss Franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.72% | -1.03% | -0.19% | -0.47% | -1.11% | -1.95% | -0.35% | |
| EUR | 0.72% | -0.31% | 0.54% | 0.25% | -0.41% | -1.25% | 0.36% | |
| GBP | 1.03% | 0.31% | 0.85% | 0.57% | -0.09% | -0.94% | 0.68% | |
| JPY | 0.19% | -0.54% | -0.85% | -0.29% | -0.99% | -1.91% | -0.18% | |
| CAD | 0.47% | -0.25% | -0.57% | 0.29% | -0.64% | -1.50% | 0.11% | |
| Australian Dollar | 1.11% | 0.41% | 0.09% | 0.99% | 0.64% | -0.84% | 0.79% | |
| New Zealand Dollar | 1.95% | 1.25% | 0.94% | 1.91% | 1.50% | 0.84% | 1.63% | |
| Swiss Franc | 0.35% | -0.36% | -0.68% | 0.18% | -0.11% | -0.79% | -1.63% |
This heat map demonstrates the percentage changes among major currencies. The base currency is in the left column while the quote currency is in the top row. For example, if you check British Pounds against US Dollars, the percentage shown represents GBP (Base)/USD (Quote).
