The GBP/USD pair recovers its daily losses and continues its winning streak for the third successive session, hovering around 1.2850 during Asian trading hours on Thursday. The British Pound (GBP) came under pressure following the release of weaker-than-expected data from the RICS Housing Price Balance, which showed just a 2% increase in March. This marked a significant slowdown from the 20% and 11% gains recorded in January and February, respectively, and fell far short of the anticipated 8% rise highlighting a stagnation in price growth over recent months.

Further weighing on the British Pound was renewed trade tension between the US and China. US President Donald Trump announced an immediate hike in tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%, following China's retaliatory increase in duties on US goods to 84%. This escalating trade war poses a negative backdrop for the United Kingdom (UK), which appears ill-equipped to compete in a price war with China. The tit-for-tat tariff hikes overshadowed earlier efforts to ease trade tensions, where the US had temporarily reduced tariffs to 10% for 90 days to support broader negotiations.

Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor for Financial Stability and MPC member Sarah Breeden will deliver remarks at the Market News International Connect event, "UK Economic and Financial Stability Prospects," held online.
Market sentiment has shifted dovish toward the Bank of England (BoE), with traders increasingly expecting policy easing in response to global economic risks. Deutsche Bank analysts anticipate that the BoE could respond decisively at its May meeting with an aggressive 50 basis point (bps) rate cut.

Meanwhile, the Minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting suggested that US policymakers are nearly unanimous in acknowledging the dual threat of persistent inflation and slowing economic growth. The Minutes warned of "difficult tradeoffs" ahead for the Federal Reserve as it navigates these competing challenges.

Source: Fxstreet