Pound Inches Higher as Sentiment Improves

GBPUSD The Pound Sterling gained ground against the greenback and finally moved its way past a 10-day trough on news that the UK's Conservative Party is poised to take a substantial majority in the upcoming election. That will open the door for the party, led by the Prime Minister, to implement its Brexit pledge which will put an end to years long uncertainty. The GBP/USD had hit a 10-day trough last Friday after the release of PMI data which suggested that the UK economy continues to struggle and that a prolonged period of low interest rates are a likely inevitability.

At 11:15 in morning trade in London, the GBP/USD was higher at $1.2878, up 0.3825%; the pair has ranged from a low of $1.28276 to a peak of $1.28858. The EUR/GBP was lower at 0.8550 Pence, a loss of 0.4749%, off the session trough of 0.85468 Pence.

Data Eyed in Week Ahead

Analysts don't expect a Tory win to have much impact on Sterling as a win has already been priced in by markets. Data will continue to be the short term driver of Sterling, then. This is expected to be a light trading week for the UK, with few economic data reports due out. On Friday, the GfK Consumer Confidence survey will be released for November, with an expected reading of -14, flat from the October survey. It's a different story in the US with a slew of data being released before the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Markets will be watching for the releases of broad-ranging data, including GDP, inflation, labor and jobless claims and durable goods orders.

Barbara Zigah

After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.