Sterling slips as economic slowdown fuels BOE rate cut bets

<p>The poor October monthly GDP data <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/uk-october-monthly-gdp-03-vs-00-mm-expected-20231213/" target="_blank" rel="follow">here</a> is going to be fueling rate cut expectations by the BOE, especially when paired with the UK jobs report from yesterday <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/uk-november-payrolls-change-12k-vs-33k-prior-20231212/" target="_blank" rel="follow">here</a>. Coming into today, market players are eyeing June as the first rate cut for the central bank next year but I would expect that pricing to pick up later once European markets open. For added context, there is roughly 12 bps priced in for a March move prior to today.</p><p>GBP/USD is already slipping further as it falls to 1.2525 and looks to contest the 1.2500 mark again after its recent retreat:</p><p>The drop in the pair came after testing its 61.8 Fib retracement level of the swing lower from July to October, at around the 1.2720 level. But it also comes amid heightening BOE rate cut expectations, with the data this week vindicating the recent market pricing.</p><p>The dollar side of the equation for GBP/USD will also be of major interest today with the Fed coming up. And if the conditions line up, the pair might be looking towards a test of the 100-day (red line) and 200-day (blue line) moving averages potentially at 1.2452 and 1.2494 respectively. So, those are key downside levels to watch just in case.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.