GBP/USD drops to lowest since April 2017 under 1.2400
- Pound weakness across the board amid Brexit comments from officials.
- Cable hits 2-year lows as it remains under pressure also amid a stronger greenback.
The GBP/USD pair broke below 1.2400 and fell to 1.2375, the lowest intraday level since April 2017. The pair remains near the lows, under pressure.
After moving sideways for hours it broke below the 1.2420 support and accelerated the decline, on the back of a weaker Sterling. From the new 2019 low bounced modestly to the upside and as of writing stands at 1.2385, on it ways to the first daily close under 1.2400 in two years.
The pound remains under pressure on the first days of Boris Johnson as Primer Minister. Over the last two days, UK and EU officials offered comments about Brexit but not clarity. The latest came from Irish PM who said the withdrawal agreement without a backstop is the same as a no-deal and hoped that Johnson shows flexibility. Johnson’s government said that there will be no new talks on Brexit until the European Union drops the request for a backstop in Ireland.
On the flip side, the US dollar is among the top performers on Friday. The greenback continues with the rally that started during yesterday’s American session. Today it received a boost from US GDP data. “GDP growth slowed in 2Q19 to 2.1% annualized from the 3.1% rate seen in 1Q19, but it was at least above the 1.8% consensus estimate. Moreover, the underlying story is better than the headline suggests given the huge swings in the inventory and the net trade components. Strip this out and we find real final sales to domestic purchasers grew an impressive 3.5%, which hardly suggests a desperate need for aggressive monetary policy stimulus”, explained ING analysts.
The US Dollar Index is up 0.22%, above 98.00 at the highest level since late May. The greenback is also higher against commodity and emerging market currencies as market participants see now a less aggressive monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
Levels to watch