Pound Rises Ahead Of Fed Warsh's Speech

(RTTNews) - The British pound strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as traders now look to U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh's speech.

In light of the energy-driven acceleration of US inflation, Warsh's comments at the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings in Bangkok will be watched for additional clues regarding the Fed's future policy course.

The British Pound (GBP) rose slightly after the Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey comments.

The BoE Bailey stated continued dissatisfaction with above-target UK inflation during a moderated debate at the Institute of International Finance Annual Membership Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

Asian stock markets traded higher, boosted by strong gains in Japan and South Korea amid a rebound in technology and semiconductor stocks after the recent sell-off on concerns over rising costs of financing AI investments.

Despite the hotter-than-expected US inflation data released over the past two days, CME Group's FedWatch Tool suggests the US Federal Reserve is still likely to leave rates unchanged later this month.

The continued escalation in the Middle East conflict is spiking crude oil prices and raising supply concerns after two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz were struck by projectiles.

Yemen's Houthis have also vowed to press on with attacks on airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia after hitting the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco a day earlier.

In the Asian trading today, the pound rose to a 2-day high of 0.8442 against the euro, from an early low of 0.8451. The next possible upside target for the pound is seen around the 0.83 region.

Against the U.S. dollar and the yen, the pound advanced to more than a 2-week high of 1.3307 and a 2-day high of 210.05 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.3271 and 209.86, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.35 against the greenback and 214.00 against the yen.

The pound edged up to 1.1000 against the Swiss franc, from Thursday's closing value of 1.0986. On the upside, 1.12 is seen as the next resistance level for the pound.

Looking ahead, Eurozone CPI data for September is due to be released at 5:00 am ET in the European session.

In the New York session, Canada housing starts for September, U.S. export and import prices for September, U.S. New York Fed services activity index for October, U.S. industrial and manufacturing productions for September and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release.