GBP/USD edges up on weak US economic data

US economic data is not helping the US Dollar, which is failing to gain traction following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Wednesday. Powell didn’t say anything dovish other than acknowledging that the Federal Reserve would ease policy “at some point this year,” though he emphasized that it would depend on data. He would speak again on Thursday at around 15:00 GMT.

In the meantime, the labor market is cooling. The Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending March 2 came at 217K, surpassing estimates and the previous reading of 215 K. Today’s data confirms Wednesday’s US Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which revealed that there were 8.863 M job openings, which fell short of estimates and was lower than December’s 8.889M.

Other data showed that private hiring improved by 140K, less than forecasts of 150K. On Friday, the US Department of Labor will release the Nonfarm Payrolls for February, which are expected to rise by 200K, less than January’s 353K.

Across the pond, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, presented the spring budget to the House of Commons. Hunt stated the UK economy is estimated to grow by 0.8% in 2024 and 1.9% in 2025, stronger than the 0.7% and 1.4% growth rates forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in November.