Today, the British pound fell against the US dollar ahead of the publication of important macroeconomic statistics. However, the released data encouraged investors. According to the preliminary data, the annual statistics indicated growth of the economy in the third quarter by 1.5%, defying the expectations of the economists for a slowdown of 1.4%. Quarter on quarter, the first estimate of the UK GDP showed an increase of 0.4%, after a 0.3% rise in the second quarter. Market participants expected the economy to maintain its previous growth rate.
The release of such strong statistics supported the British pound. As a result, the GBP/USD pair is gradually returning to the Monday levels. Investors believe that at the Band of England meeting scheduled on November 2nd, the bank can change its rhetoric and hint at readiness to raise the interest rate for the first time in 10 years. The British pound will be mainly under the influence of this factor, since no significant macroeconomic data from the UK is expected during this trading week.