GBP/USD steady at 1.3230 as UK budget offsets US Dollar pressure

Sterling steady in thin Thanksgiving trade as Fed cut bets cap Dollar strength

European bourses trade with a positive mood after Wall Street ended Wednesday’s session in the green ahead of the long weekend. The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed the Autumn Budget.

Analysts cited by Reuters revealed that “Fears about slow growth, weak productivity and sticky inflation are not reflective of an attractive investment backdrop.” Reeves' budget was well received by markets despite the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downward revision of the economic growth for 2025.

Although this is bearish for the Pound Sterling (GBP), the US Dollar (USD) remains pressured on expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) might reduce borrowing costs at the December 9-10 meeting.

Odds of a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Fed are 85%, unchanged from a day ago.

On Wednesday, US Initial Jobless Claims figures for the week ending November 22 rose by 216K, beneath forecasts of 225K, an indication that the labor market is solid despite signs of weakness.

Continuing claims for the week ending November 15 rose from 1.95 million to 1.96 million. In the meantime, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the buck’s performance versus six currencies, remains steady at 99.57.

GBP/USD Price Chart – Daily

Pound Sterling Price This week

The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies this week. British Pound was the strongest against the US Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.72%	-1.03%	-0.19%	-0.47%	-1.11%	-1.95%	-0.35%
EUR	0.72%		-0.31%	0.54%	0.25%	-0.41%	-1.25%	0.36%
GBP	1.03%	0.31%		0.85%	0.57%	-0.09%	-0.94%	0.68%
JPY	0.19%	-0.54%	-0.85%		-0.29%	-0.99%	-1.91%	-0.18%
CAD	0.47%	-0.25%	-0.57%	0.29%		-0.64%	-1.50%	0.11%
AUD	1.11%	0.41%	0.09%	0.99%	0.64%		-0.84%	0.79%
NZD	1.95%	1.25%	0.94%	1.91%	1.50%	0.84%		1.63%
CHF	0.35%	-0.36%	-0.68%	0.18%	-0.11%	-0.79%	-1.63%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).