The British pound weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as the weak cues from Wall Street overnight and fall in commodity prices to multi-year lows increased risk aversion.
The commodity prices slumped amid a weak demand outlook and on concerns about the global economy. Crude oil for December delivery are currently down $0.22 at $41.53 a barrel.
Moreover, U.S. Federal Reserve officials hinted at a Fed rate hike as early at its next month's FOMC meeting.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said it would be prudent to move monetary policy closer to normal levels now that the goals have been attained.
New York Fed President William Dudley also said the risks of moving too quickly or too slowly are nearly balanced but emphasized that a December rate hike will depend on incoming data.
Meanwhile, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans had a more cautious tone and said it could be "well into" next year before the inflation goal to support a rate hike is reached.
However, Yellen, while delivering welcoming remarks at a Fed conference on post-crisis monetary policy, did not specifically discuss the outlook for rates.
Thursday, the pound rose 0.17 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.24 percent against the yen, 0.49 percent against the euro and 0.14 percent against the Swiss franc.
In the Asian trading, the pound fell to a 2-day low of 186.45 against the yen, from yesterday's closing value of 186.71. On the downside, 184.00 is seen as the next support level for the pound.
Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the pound dropped to 1.5208 and 1.5230 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.5231 and 1.5221, respectively. If the pound extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.50 against the greenback and 1.50 against the franc.
The pound edged down to 0.7097 against the euro, from an early high of 0.7087. The next possible downside target for the pound is seen around the 0.72 area.
Looking ahead, preliminary German GDP data for the third quarter is due to be released in the pre-European session at 2:00 am ET.
Swiss producer and import prices for October, U.K. construction output for September, Eurozone GDP data for the third quarter and trade balance for the September are slated for release later in the day.
At 4:00 am ET, European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio will deliver a speech at a high-level conference in Frankfurt.
ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch will take part in a Financial Services Summit in Windsor, England, at 7:15 am ET.
In the New York session, U.S. PPI and retail sales reports, both for October, U.S. business inventories for September and the University of Michigan's preliminary U.S. consumer sentiment index for November are set to be announced.
At 8:00 am ET, Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins is expected to speak at the Rotman School of Management and Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester will give a speech about the economy and monetary policy in Cleveland, at 12:30 pm ET.
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Forex News
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.