EUR/GBP trades choppy on Thursday, with the British Pound (GBP) modestly outperforming the Euro (EUR) on the back of resilient UK economic data, while traders also assess growing political noise in the United Kingdom.
At the time of writing, the cross is trading around 0.8659 after touching an intraday high of 0.8668 earlier in the day
The UK economy expanded by 1.1% YoY in the first quarter of 2026, accelerating from 1.0% in the previous quarter and beating market expectations of 0.8%, according to preliminary estimates. On a monthly basis, UK GDP rose 0.3% in March, defying forecasts for a 0.2% contraction, though growth slowed slightly from February’s 0.4% expansion. However, the GBP is struggling to build on gains from the stronger UK economic data as political uncertainty weighs on sentiment.
Speculation over potential leadership challenges to Prime Minister Keir Starmer has intensified following Labour’s weak performance in recent local elections. UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who is viewed as a leading contender to replace Starmer, resigned from the government on Thursday. Meanwhile, investor attention also remains focused on the monetary policy outlook for the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) amid Oil-driven inflation risks stemming from ongoing disruptions in the Middle East.