• The Pound Sterling declines to 1.2740 against the USD as the Fed signals only one rate cut this year.
• Fed policymakers said they want to see inflation declining for months before considering rate cuts.
• UK’s steady wage growth has raised concerns of persistent inflation in the services sector.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) weakens further to 1.2740 against the US Dollar (USD) in Friday’s trading session as the latter remains firm. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, extends its upside to 105.40. The USD Index rises for a second consecutive day, as the hawkish stance of the Federal Reserve (Fed) on the interest rate outlook has outweighed the impact of the soft United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) reports for May. 

The US PPI report, released on Thursday, showed that the monthly headline PPI declined by 0.2% due to weak gasoline prices, and the core producer inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was flat.

Cooler consumer and producer inflation reports suggest that the core Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) reading, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, would also exhibit softening inflationary pressures. This has boosted expectations of early rate cuts by the Fed. 30-day Fed Funds futures pricing data shows that traders see a 65% chance that there will be a rate-cut decision in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The probability has significantly increased from the 50.5% recorded a week ago.

On Wednesday, the Fed signaled only one rate cut this year against a prior projection of three after leaving interest rates unchanged in the range of 5.25%-5.50%. Policymakers scaled back a number of rate cuts in the latest projections amid concerns that progress in the disinflation progress has slowed. In the press conference after the interest rate decision, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the soft inflation report for May is encouraging but also that officials want to see price pressures decline for months to build confidence for rate cuts. Powell added that policymakers would respond quickly to rate cuts if labor market conditions start easing.