GBP/USD keeps the red near weekly low, moves little post-US economic data

• GBP/USD comes under renewed selling pressure on Thursday amid a modest USD strength.
• Bets for more aggressive Fed rate hikes, elevated US bond yields revive the USD demand.
• The mixed US economic data fails to impress the USD bulls or provide impetus to the pair.

The GBP/USD pair extends its steady intraday descent through the early North American session and seems rather unaffected by US macro releases. The pair is currently trading around the 1.1470-1.1465 area and remains well within the striking distance of its lowest level since 1985 touched last week.

Following the previous day's modest downtick, the US dollar regains some positive traction on Thursday amid hawkish Fed expectations and turns out to be a key factor exerting pressure on the GBP/USD pair. That said, a generally positive tone around the equity markets keeps a lid on any meaningful gains for the safe-haven greenback.

Even the mixed US economic data also did little to impress the USD bulls or provide any meaningful impetus to the GBP/USD pair. The US Census Bureau reported that the headline sales unexpectedly rose by 0.3% in August. This, however, was offset by the fact that core sales (excluding autos) remain flat during the reported month.

Separately, the US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell to 213K during the week ended September 9 against a rise to 226K anticipated. Furthermore, the Empire State Manufacturing Index improves to -1.5 in September from -31.3 previous, while Philly Fed Manufacturing Index plunges to -9.9, missing estimates for a fall to 2.8 from 6.2 in August.

The data, meanwhile, does little to push back against bets for a more aggressive policy tightening by the Fed. This, in turn, remains supportive of elevated US Treasury bond yields and favours the USD bulls, suggesting that the path of least resistance for the GBP/USD pair is to the downside. Hence, a slide back towards the YTD low, around the 1.1400 mark, remains a distinct possibility.

Technical levels to watch