[DAILY TRADING] GBPUSD Analysis 31 July 2026 – Cable Catches Its Breath After a Bruising Week for Both Central Banks
Cable experienced one of its most volatile weeks of the year, and it shows. The Vantage GBPUSD CFD trades at 1.34477 as of 03:34 UTC (11:34, GMT+8) on 31 July 2026, a touch below the 1.3490 high it touched a day earlier. Call it GBPUSD, GBP/USD, or GBP to USD, cable spent this week pulled in two directions by two central banks.
Wednesday brought the Federal Reserve. Thursday brought the Bank of England. Both held their rates steady, and neither decision was unanimous. That’s an unusually eventful 48 hours, and the rally paused after a sharp two-day advance.
This piece reads the 15-minute chart and the two decisions behind it. All prices are as of 03:34 UTC on 31 July 2026. Charts are indicative and from TradingView. This is not financial advice.
Key points
- GBPUSD trades at 1.34477 on 31 July 2026, a step down from the 1.3490 peak it reached after the Fed and the Bank of England both held their benchmark rates within a day of each other.
- The Fed’s 29 July hold passed 9-3, with three dissents marking an unusually high level of disagreement within the Committee. The BoE’s 30 July hold was tighter still at 6-3, with three members pushing for an immediate rise to 4%.
- RSI on the chart used for this analysis has cooled to 39.28 from above 70 during Thursday’s rally, and price is now sitting just under the 200-period moving average.
What the chart is showing
Monday and Tuesday saw a slow grind lower into a session low near 1.329 on 28 July, lining up with Reuters describing sterling near four-week lows around $1.3291 that week.[1]
Then the week flipped. From late on 29 July through 30 July, GBPUSD climbed from the high-1.329s to a weekly high near 1.3490, before settling back to 1.34477 by Friday morning.
The 50-period moving average sits at 1.33664, comfortably below price and tracking the recovery since Tuesday’s low. The 200-period moving average sits at 1.34616, just above price, so cable is knocking on that level’s door rather than clearing it.
RSI on the TradingView setup used for this analysis reads 39.28, with its signal line at 43.96, both down sharply from north of 70 during Thursday’s rally. RSI rolled over from overbought territory ahead of price reaching the 200-period moving average, signalling fading short-term momentum despite the broader recovery. Volume on the Vantage CFD feed read 525 on the latest candle.

The Fed and BoE both held, but neither decision was unanimous

The Federal Reserve held its target range at 3.50%-3.75% on 29 July. The 9-3 vote featured three dissents, an unusually high level of disagreement within the Committee: regional presidents Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan wanted an immediate quarter-point hike, arguing inflation has sat above the 2% goal for too long.[2] The post-meeting statement was shorter than in previous meetings, reinforcing the Committee’s data-dependent stance.[2]
A day later, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee held Bank Rate at 3.75% too, on an even narrower 6-3 vote, with three members favouring a rise to 4%.[3] The Monetary Policy Report noted higher energy prices and geopolitical risks as factors keeping inflation elevated, with June CPI at 2.6% and the Bank’s own projection showing it peaking near 3.2% in the fourth quarter.[3]
Add a softer US GDP print to the mix. The advance estimate for second-quarter growth, published 30 July, came in at 1.5%, down from 2.1% in the first quarter and short of the 2.1% economists expected.[4] The data provide additional context for markets but do not determine the path of future monetary policy.
Levels traders are watching
The table below covers the zone traders are monitoring on GBPUSD. These are reference levels, not trade signals.
| Pair | Support | Resistance | What’s happening |
| GBPUSD | 1.3300 / 1.3220 | 1.3480 / 1.3550 | Consolidating just under the 200-period MA after the post-Fed, post-BoE rally |
Table 1: Key levels as of 31 July 2026. Sources: Exchange Rates UK, FXStreet. Indicative only.
What to watch this week and beyond
- US ISM Manufacturing PMI, 1 August: An early read on how the economy is holding up after the softer second-quarter GDP print.
- US Nonfarm Payrolls, 7 August: The next full jobs report, following June’s surprisingly soft 57,000 gain against a 110,000 forecast.
- Bank of England commentary, ongoing: Traders are watching for further MPC remarks on the 6-3 split for signs of whether the hawkish minority gains ground before the next meeting.
On risk management: cable has swung hard around two central bank decisions in one week, and Stop Loss placement around the 1.3300 support and 1.3480 to 1.3550 resistance band matters more than usual in a range this reactive to headlines. Traders keeping tabs on GBPUSD news, USD news, or the wider currency trading news cycle will want to watch the data, not the rhetoric.
Leverage cuts both ways in a week like this one. Position sizing relative to account equity is worth a second look ahead of Friday’s payrolls print, especially with cable having covered this much ground in a matter of days. Traders can review live forex trading conditions on GBPUSD with Vantage before positioning.
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References
[1] “Pound Steady ahead of Fed, BoE Policy Decisions” – Reuters, via GuruTrade https://www.gurutrade.com/news/pound-steady-ahead-of-fed-boe-policy-decisions-1785356325.html Accessed on 31 July 2026.
[2] “Fed rate decision July 2026: Divided Fed holds interest rates steady” – CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/29/fed-rate-decision-july-2026.html Accessed on 31 July 2026.
[3] “Bank Rate maintained at 3.75% – July 2026 Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes” – Bank of England https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy-summary-and-minutes/2026/july-2026 Accessed on 31 July 2026.
[4] “GDP (Advance Estimate), 2nd Quarter 2026” – U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/gdp-advance-estimate-2nd-quarter-2026 Accessed on 31 July 2026.
[5] “United States Non Farm Payrolls” – Trading Economics, citing US Bureau of Labor Statistics https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/non-farm-payrolls Accessed on 31 July 2026.