The British Pound is enjoying some short term demand after the release of the UK employment figures, although the bounce in the GBP/USD pair from a fresh low set at 1.4243 is for the most shallow. According to official data, employment was up in the three months to January by 205K to record 74.1% of workforce. The unemployment rate however, remained unchanged at 5.1% against expectations of a fall to 5.0%, while wages posted a tepid advance, hardly enough to become a concern for the BOE-
The GBP/USD pair recovered up to 1.4298 after the news, completing a pullback to the daily ascendant rend line broken yesterday, where sellers halted the advance. Nevertheless, the pair broke higher after a couple of attempts, and trades at fresh daily highs in the 1.4330 region. Helped by China, which announced it will raise rates for its housing provident fund to ensure reasonable gains for depositors, effective from February 21st, to 1.5%. The dollar took a hit with the news, and even oil benefited from the announcement.
The 4 hours chart shows that the technical indicators are exhausted towards the downside, supporting some additional upward corrections, should the pair hold above 1.4300 and extend beyond 1.4350, the immediate resistance. Above this last, 1.4410 is the next bullish target, while further gains beyond it should lead to a test of 1.4460. Below 1.4290 on the other hand the risk turns towards the downside, back towards the daily low and en route to the 1.4200 figure.
View the live chart of the GBP/USD
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