GBP/USD ended its seven-day winning streak, weakening to around 1.3230 during the Asian session on Thursday (4/17) after falling from a six-month high of 1.3292 reached on Wednesday. Traders now await the release of key US data later in the day, including Building Permits, Housing Starts, Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, and weekly Initial Jobless Claims.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) is trading higher near 99.60 at the time of writing, supported by stronger-than-expected consumer spending in March. US Retail Sales rose 1.4% in March, beating February's 0.2% increase and the 1.3% forecast.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) came under pressure after weaker-than-expected UK CPI data for March. Headline inflation rose 2.6% year-on-year, below expectations of 2.7% and 2.8% in February. Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, rose 3.4%—in line with estimates but slightly down from 3.5% previously. The headline CPI rose 0.3% on the month, missing estimates and the previous reading of 0.4%.

Notably, services inflation—a key Bank of England (BoE) metric—fell to 4.7% from 5.0%, reinforcing expectations of a potential rate cut at the BoE's May policy meeting. Additionally, the deteriorating outlook for the UK labor market, compounded by a recent hike in employers' national insurance contributions that came into effect this month, could further push BoE policymakers toward monetary easing. (Newsmaker23)

Source: FXstreet