GBP/USD sheds weight amid thin Thursday ahead of key US data

• GBP/USD lost around 0.2% on Thursday as Cable traders await meaningful news.
• US data came in mixed on Thursday; traders await Friday's US PCEPI print.
• A data-light week for the UK leaves the Pound adrift.

GBP/USD soured slightly on Thursday, shedding a scant one-fifth of one percent as markets grapple with mixed headwinds and keep risk appetite underbid. US President Donald Trump reiterated threats to impose stiff tariffs on Canada and Mexico as soon as February 1, with fresh threats in the pipe for import fees on Chinese goods and Crude Oil products.

Read more: US President Donald Trump reiterates threat to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico

US economic data came in mixed on Thursday, further flummoxing markets. US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter of 2024 came in below expectations, but weekly Initial Jobless Claims figures beat expectations while remaining well within recent norms.

US PCE inflation to be the key post-Fed data print

Coming up on Friday, US Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCEPI) inflation metrics will print during the US market session. As the Federal Reserve's (Fed) favored method of measuring and tracking consumer-level inflation, this PCEPI print will likely draw more eyes than usual after the Fed boldly held interest rates steady earlier this week, despite President Trump's vehement protestations.

GBP/USD price forecast

GBP/USD continues to grind lower amid half-hearted intraday momentum. The pair caught a clean bearish technical bounce from the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) early this week, and has continued to flub a recent bullish upswing from multi-month lows chalked in near 1.2100 earlier in January.

Momentum is still pointed toward the low side, and Cable is poised for a pullback to the 1.2250 region unless bidders return to the fold and push bids back above the 1.2500 handle and the 50-day EMA.

GBP/USD price forecast