Sterling Breaks Above 1.33: GBP/USD Hits Six-Week High
The pound just delivered its loudest statement of the autumn.
GBP/USD pushed to 1.3371 on Thursday — a six-week high — before settling at 1.3330, completing a remarkable round trip from the 1.3139 scare earlier in the week. From Tuesday’s low to Thursday’s high, sterling gained more than 230 pips against a dollar that has steamrolled everything else in its path this month.
Why sterling is defying the dollar
The same relative-rate story that powered the August rally has reasserted itself. UK inflation data this week came in stickier than forecast, pushing market-implied odds of a Bank of England rate cut before year-end below 20%. Meanwhile, the eurozone drifts toward easing and the Fed holds firm — in a G10 where almost nobody is raising rates, “not cutting” is the new hawkish, and sterling is the biggest beneficiary.
The cross confirms it: EUR/GBP has slid toward 0.8450, its lowest since the spring. The market isn’t buying dollars with sterling — it’s buying sterling, period.
The context that makes this impressive
Remember what this move is happening against: a dollar index at its highs, a US equity market in a two-day slide, and risk appetite deteriorating by the session. Sterling typically underperforms in risk-off tapes. Rallying anyway is the mark of a currency with its own engine.
Levels
1.3371 is the immediate resistance — a break targets 1.3440 (September’s high) and then the August peak at 1.3675, which feels like a different era but is only 300 pips away. Below, 1.3269 (Thursday’s low) protects the breakout; a fall back through 1.3200 would signal a failed move. For now, respect the strongest major currency of October.
Disclaimer: This is market commentary, not investment advice. Trading FX, commodities, equities and crypto carries substantial risk of loss.
Leave a Reply