Ella 
During early Asian trading on Thursday, the U.S. dollar (USD) rebounded slightly, and GBP/USD ended its two-day winning streak around 1.2460. The release of U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be the focus of the day. In addition, the usual weekly jobless claims and existing home sales data will be released.
On Wednesday, U.S. durable goods orders rose 2.6%, or $7.3 billion, to $283.4 billion in March, after rising 0.7% (revised to 1.4%) in February. The overall increase in orders was the largest since November 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, orders for durable goods excluding transportation rose 0.2% in March, while new orders excluding defense rose 2.3%. Both figures were below expectations. Nonetheless, these reports did not have a significant impact on the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY).
Several U.S. Federal Reserve officials and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have stressed that interest rates will not be cut in the coming months because inflation remains firmer than expected. Hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials and a “longer-term stance to keep interest rates higher” boosted the dollar and was bearish for the GBP/USD currency pair.
