During the US trading session on Friday (February 20), the pound sterling rose more than 0.23% against the US dollar after the US Supreme Court ruled that President Trump’s tariff policies, implemented under national emergency-related laws, were illegal. This ruling, combined with weaker-than-expected US GDP data, collectively weighed on the US dollar. The pound sterling was trading at 1.3489 against the US dollar during the session, up 0.20%.
The US economic data released on Friday showed signs of stagflation: the year-on-year growth rate of US GDP in the fourth quarter of 2025 slowed sharply from 4.4% to 1.4%, impacted by a 43-day government shutdown. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge—the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index—rose 3% year-on-year in December, surpassing market expectations of 2.9% and the previous reading of…
