GBP/USD eases back as CPI inflation data looms

• GBP/USD is pushing back down to the 1.3400 region after a brief rally.
• Key technical averages are keeping price action under pressure from both sides.
• UK and US CPI inflation data is due this week, rate watchers to be on their toes.

GBP/USD caught a second softly bearish session on Monday, colling back into touch range of the 1.3400 handle. Cable's near-term bull run came to a quick end after price action ran into the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near 1.3450 late last week, and now Pound Sterling (GBP) traders are bracing for a double-header of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data from both the UK and the US this week.

It's a quiet start to the economic data docket on both sides of the Atlantic, but UK CPI inflation figures for September are slated for Wednesday. UK CPI inflation is expected to accelerate slightly for the year ended in September. However, the increases are not likely to be steep enough to spark any significant changes in the Bank of England's (BoE) current rate-targeting schedule.

US CPI inflation, which is due on Friday, is another matter entirely. US CPI inflation metrics are largely expected to remain unchanged in September, but datawatchers are on the lookout for any top side wriggles in inflation data as tariff impacts continue to leak their way through the US economy. The Federal Reserve (Fed) is firmly on pace to deliver two more interest rate cuts through the end of the year, but any sharp upticks in inflationary pressures could throw rate betting markets for a loop.

GBP/USD daily chart