The British pound extended losses below $1.32, its weakest level since April, pressured by a stronger dollar after the Fed lowered the fed funds rate by 25bps as expected but Chair Powell cautioned that another cut this year is not guaranteed. Sterling has also come under pressure this week as traders modestly increased bets on BoE rate cuts, while expectations grow that November’s budget could deliver a major hit to economic growth. During parliamentary questions on Wednesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer declined to rule out increases in income tax, national insurance, or value-added tax. Meanwhile, reports suggest that the OBR plans to downgrade the UK’s productivity growth forecast by around 0.3 percentage points, a revision that could create a