GBP/USD – 1.6492.. Cable retreats in tandem with euro after initial brief bounce to 1.6523, however, price quickly retreated on reported decent-sized offers at 1.6520-30, the pound weakened to 1.6476 b4 edging higher.
Range-trading is expected after y’day’s rebound fm 1.6432 as market’s focus is on UK GDP, cable fell by approx. 1 cent after the data last month. More on today’s UK GDP which is worth noting, Reuters reported comments by Chancellor George Osborne who said y’day Britain’s economy still faces difficulties but gov’t. policy is on the right track. “Clearly it is still difficult,” Osborne told ministers at a cabinet meeting earlier on Tuesday. Osborne has 24 hours advance access to key economic data such as the preliminary estimate of Q1 GDP due to be released at 9:30 a.m. According to Reuters polls earlier, economists had steadily downgraded their expectations for the number, which is expected to show quarterly growth of just 0.5%, after a 0.5% contraction in the last three months of 2010.