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GBP/USD drops to fresh 2022 low, further below mid-1.3200s on upbeat NFP report

  • GBP/USD witnessed heavy selling for the second successive day amid a blowout USD rally.
  • The worsening situation in Ukraine, upbeat NFP report continued underpinning the USD.
  • Technical selling below the 1.3270 area aggravated the bearish pressure around the pair.

The GBP/USD pair continued lowing ground through the early North American session and weakened further below mid-1.3200s in reaction to an upbeat US monthly jobs report. The pair was last seen trading around the 1.3240-1.3235 region, down nearly 0.80% for the day.

The pair added to the overnight losses and continued falling for the second successive day on Friday amid a blowout US dollar rally, bolstered by the global flight to safety. The Russian attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest of its kind in Europe - raised fears of an environmental catastrophe. This, in turn, unnerved investors and boosted demand for traditional safe-haven assets.

The stronger USD momentum got an additional boost from better-than-expected US employment details. In fact, the headline NFP showed that the US economy added 678K new jobs in February, smashing market expectations for 400K. In addition, the previous month's reading was revised higher to 481K from 467K reported earlier. Moreover, the unemployment rate fell more than anticipated, to 3.8% from 4.0% in January.

The greenback shot to its highest level since May 2020 and was seen as a key factor that dragged the GBP/USD pair lower. Apart from this, the ongoing downward trajectory could further be attributed to some technical selling below the 1.3270 support zone. This now seems to have set the stage for a further near-term depreciating move amid the worsening situation in Ukraine.

Technical levels to watch

GBP/USD

Overview
Today last price1.3264
Today Daily Change-0.0075
Today Daily Change %-0.56
Today daily open1.3339
 
Trends
Daily SMA201.3507
Daily SMA501.3526
Daily SMA1001.3491
Daily SMA2001.3658
 
Levels
Previous Daily High1.3418
Previous Daily Low1.3318
Previous Weekly High1.3638
Previous Weekly Low1.3273
Previous Monthly High1.3644
Previous Monthly Low1.3273
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%1.3356
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%1.338
Daily Pivot Point S11.3298
Daily Pivot Point S21.3258
Daily Pivot Point S31.3198
Daily Pivot Point R11.3399
Daily Pivot Point R21.3459
Daily Pivot Point R31.3499

Author

Haresh Menghani

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

More from Haresh Menghani
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