• The Pound Sterling trades below 1.3000 against the US Dollar as slowing UK inflation fuels BoE’s dovish bets.
• UK service inflation slowed to 4.9%, the lowest level since May 2022.
• Growing speculation of a Trump victory in the US presidential elections has strengthened the US Dollar.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) strives to gain ground against its major peers on Thursday after facing an intense sell-off on Wednesday. The British currency slumped after the release of the United Kingdom (UK) Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for September, which showed that inflation grew at a slower-than-expected pace.

Annual headline inflation decelerated to 1.7%, below the Bank of England’s (BoE) target of 2%. The core CPI – which excludes a few of the more volatile items – rose by 3.2%, also lower than expected. UK’s service inflation, a closely watched indicator by BoE officials for decision-making on interest rates, decelerated to 4.9%.

Plunging inflationary pressures have bolstered BoE dovish bets. Traders are pricing in a 25 basis points (bps) interest rate cut in each of the two policy meetings that remain for the year. Before the inflation data release, market participants were anticipating the BoE to cut its key borrowing rates only once, either in November or December.

British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves welcomed the sharp drop in inflation ahead of her first budget, which she will present on October 30. A sharp decline in price pressures should allow Reeves to spend more money on development.

On the economic front, the next important data point in the UK is Retail Sales data for September, which will be published on Friday. The Retail Sales data, a key measure of consumer spending, is estimated to have declined 0.3% after gaining 1.1% in August on month-on-month. On an annual basis, the consumer spending measure is expected to have grown by 3.2%, higher than 2.5% in August.