Anna 
During Monday’s London session, the Pound Sterling (GBP) is maintaining a tight range around 1.2550 against the US Dollar (USD), with the GBP/USD pair expected to exhibit subdued volatility due to the closure of United Kingdom markets for Early May.
The GBP/USD struggles to find direction amid a consolidating US Dollar following the release of US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) and ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data for April. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the USD against major currencies, is trading sideways above the 105.00 mark.
The recent data suggests a softening in the US economy, with fewer jobs added, an increase in the Unemployment Rate to 3.9%, slower wage growth, and a decline in the ISM Services PMI below the expansionary threshold of 50.0, marking the lowest reading since December 2022.
Despite the subdued economic data on Friday, investors have not accelerated expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts before September. This sentiment is influenced by the significant rise in the ISM Prices Paid subindex for the service sector to 59.4 from 53.4 in March. The surge in input prices underscores persistent concerns about elevated inflation, potentially prompting the Fed to maintain a more restrictive interest rate stance for a prolonged period. According to respondents in the ISM survey, “Inflation is raising our unit cost on products and services compared to last year’s expenditures.”
