USD weakened against GBP ahead of FOMC meetings as Britain’s job market strengthened; Bitcoin below $40,000 for the first time since February

USDGBP continues the downtrend as news from the US keeps pressuring USD, and data from the UK provide support to GBP. In the US, Fed officials have pointed to a longer low-interest-rate environment. Official minutes will be released later today which investors around the globe are eyeing on.

In the UK, the unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in Q1, versus the previous figure at 4.9%. The uptick in unemployment was the first time since the pandemic started. This remarkable progress has helped GBP rise against USD to breach the level of 1.42. Although it has slipped back to around 1.4186, the previous high was the peak since February.

Bitcoin plunged below $40,000 for the first time since February 8th. It currently trades around $39,275 at press time. The sharp fall started recently as Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin payments. Later on, as he implied that the company might have sold its holdings on Bitcoin, the market reacted with great volatility. On Tuesday, China also issued a statement warning financial institutions not to conduct cryptocurrency trading, which may have contributed to the volatility. However, Bitcoin is still up nearly 40% YTD.