Sterling Holds Near $1.35 as Traders Await UK Inflation, Ukraine Talks

The British pound was little changed at $1.3547 on Monday while the euro slipped to £0.8624, as currency traders positioned for a week of high-profile political and economic events. Attention is centred on a meeting later this week between U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders from Ukraine and Europe, as well as UK inflation data for July scheduled for Wednesday. Goldman Sachs expects core UK consumer prices to have eased marginally to 3.62% last month, but analysts say any upside surprise could offer the pound only temporary support before Thursday’s UK and U.S. flash PMI releases. Beyond Britain, the focus shifts to the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium running 21–23 August, where Chair Jerome Powell will outline the economic outlook. Derivatives markets currently assign an 85% chance that the Fed will lower its policy rate by 25 basis points at its September meeting.