• GBP/USD remains confined in a narrow range on Wednesday ahead of the UK CPI.
• Tuesday’s softer US Retail Sales undermine the USD and lend support to the major.
• The subdued price action warrants caution before positioning for meaningful gains.

The GBP/USD pair struggles to gain any meaningful traction on Wednesday and oscillates in a narrow trading band, around the 1.2700 round-figure mark during the Asian session. Spot prices, meanwhile, hold above a one-month low touched last Friday as traders keenly await the release of the latest UK consumer inflation figures before positioning for the next leg of a directional move. 

The headline UK CPI is expected to tick higher and come in at 0.4% in May versus the previous print of 0.3%, while the yearly rate is seen decelerating to 3.5% from 3.9% in April. The data will play a key role in influencing the British Pound (GBP) and provide some impetus to the GBP/USD pair. The market attention will then turn to the Bank of England (BoE) monetary policy meeting on Thursday, which will help determine the near-term trajectory for the currency pair.