Ella 
GBP/USD was trading slightly higher around 1.3405 in early Asian trading on Wednesday. Weak US economic data dragged the dollar lower. Later on Wednesday, US ADP employment change data will be released, along with the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) and the preliminary report on first quarter gross domestic product (GDP).
Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday indicated that US job openings fell to 7.19 million in March, the lowest level since September 2024, from a revised 7.48 million in February. The data was lower than the market expectation of 7.5 million. Meanwhile, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 86.0 in April, down from 93.9 in March (revised from 92.9). This data hit the lowest level since April 2020.
Weak US labor demand and sentiment data have heightened concerns about economic momentum and increased uncertainty, which has weakened the dollar and provided a tailwind for GBP/USD.
On the other hand, rising market expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will cut interest rates at its May policy meeting may limit the upside for the British pound (GBP). Financial markets have almost priced in a 96% probability that the Bank of England will cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25% when it announces its next move on May 8.
BoE policymaker Megan Green said last week that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are likely to lead to lower rather than higher inflation in the UK, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about the plan and the impact of recent tax increases on British employers.
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