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On May 12, a senior U.S. Department of Defense official estimated the latest cost of the war with Iran at approximately $29 billion, an increase of about $4 billion from an estimate made less than two weeks earlier. Acting Comptroller General Jules Hearst told a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday that the total cost of the war is "close to $29 billion," due to the additional operational costs of maintaining U.S. military deployments in the Middle East and the costs of updating equipment repair and replacement. This figure is about 16% higher than his estimate of $25 billion when he testified before the House Armed Services Committee on April 29. Hearst also hinted that the cost figure may continue to change in the future.A spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Defense warned that if its enemies do not accept Iran’s demands through diplomatic means, they should be prepared to “fail again” in any future confrontation.New York City Mayor Mamdani has cancelled the planned increase in New York City property taxes in the revised budget.On May 12th, Futures News reported that, according to foreign media, German analysis firm Oil World stated on Tuesday that EU canola production is projected to increase to 20.97 million tons in 2026/27 from 20.52 million tons in 2025/26, while imports will decrease to 6.5 million tons from 6.9 million tons this year. The firm forecasts Canadian canola production at 21.4 million tons in 2026, down from 21.8 million tons in 2025/26. Canadian canola exports are expected to decrease to 7.6 million tons in 2026/27 from 8.3 million tons this year. Global biodiesel production is projected to increase to 67.1 million tons from 61.3 million tons in 2025, with EU biodiesel production rising from 14.9 million tons to 15.3 million tons.On May 12, local time, US President Trump stated that the conflict with Iran does not need to be resolved hastily. In an interview, Trump claimed that Iran is facing the prospect of having its revenue sources cut off. Trump also stated that he is confident he can prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, saying, "Its just a matter of time."

GBP/USD falls to around 1.2370 as the BoE considers taking swift action ahead of UK inflation and US purchasing managers' indices

Alina Haynes

Apr 17, 2023 13:53

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On Monday morning, the GBP/USD currency pair retested an intraday low of 1.2390 after extending Sunday's decline from a 10-month high. To provoke adverse after breaking a four-week uptrend, the Cable pair explains the most recent concerns emanating from the United Kingdom (UK) and the optimism surrounding the Federal Reserve (Fed).

 

According to the Financial Times (FT), "The Bank of England is considering a major overhaul of its deposit guarantee scheme, including increasing the amount covered for businesses and compelling banks to pre-fund the system to a greater extent to ensure faster access to cash when a lender collapses."  The revelation fuels banking concerns in the United Kingdom and places pressure on the Cable duo.

 

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's concerns about US subsidies may also be exerting downward pressure on the GBP/USD exchange rate as British firms rush to claim benefits before leaving the country. According to the news, "Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warned Sky News that Britain should be wary of any new subsidies, warning that they could undermine the economy and possibly even spark a protectionist trade war."

 

A larger-than-expected decline in US retail sales was unable to offset positive data from US industrial production and the University of Michigan's (UoM) consumer confidence index from the previous day. Despite this, US retail sales decreased by 1.0% in March compared to the predicted -0.4% decline and February's -0.2% decline. As opposed to the 0.2% market consensus and previous reading, Industrial Production increased by 0.4% in the month in question. The preliminary result of the University of Michigan's (UoM) Consumer Confidence Index for April, which increased to 63.5 from 62.0 analysts' expectations and previous readings, was also encouraging. In addition, inflation forecasts for the next year increased from 3.6% in March to 4.6% in April, while inflation forecasts for the next five years decreased by 2.9% during the same month.

 

Notably, Fed officials have recently appeared more hawkish than their BoE counterparts, which has exerted additional pressure on the GBP/USD exchange rate.

 

In this environment, the S&P 500 Futures exhibit modest gains following Wall Street's pessimistic close, while bond yields remain unchanged following weekly increases.

 

Moving forward, the current week is crucial for GBP/USD speculators as it contains a variety of high-quality inflation, employment, and UK PMI data. These data may be used to support the Bank of England's (BoE) officials' waning hawkish inclination and may keep bears in play. However, the US PMIs and Fed discussions should not be disregarded when looking for clear guidelines.