The pound had another boost this afternoon after the U.S. posted some weaker economic numbers for the second day running. After dipping back below $1.61 this morning Sterling gained nearly a cent during today's session, reaching a of $1.6182 immediately after the U.S. data releases.
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Today's figures from the U.S. came in the form of Core Durable Goods Orders, which are a good indicator of production. A positive figure signals a rise in the number of orders received by manufacturers and therefore increases activity. It was widely anticipated the figures rise by 0.1% to 0.5% from the previous month but with the actual figure coming in at -0.2% the dollars value again dropped against the pound and euro.
The last couple of days will not be great news for the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED), especially in the run up to their statement tomorrow. Despite the poor figures over the past few days we should still see the FED bring an end to their stimulus programme tomorrow and there is every chance the dollar will claw back the ground it has lost over the course of today.
Even with the pound gaining ground over the last 48 hours the long term forecast for GBP/USD is still not looking particularly rosy. If the FED do wind up the stimulus programme tomorrow all focus will then shift to when the central bank will look to raise interest rates. With the Bank of England moving the goal posts on what seems like a daily basis there is now a real possibility we could see a rate hike in the States before we see one in the UK.
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