GBP/USD jumps to session tops, closer to mid-1.3000s on upbeat UK jobs data

GBP/USD added to the overnight positive move and gained some follow-through traction.
Mostly upbeat UK employment details provided an additional boost to the British pound.
The upside is likely to remain capped amid no-deal Brexit fears, BoE rate cut speculations.

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The GBP/USD pair edged up and refreshed daily tops, around the 1.3035-40 region in reaction to better-than-expected UK employment details.

The pair added to the previous session's modest uptick and gained some follow-through positive traction for the second consecutive session on Tuesday. The uptick got a minor lift during the early European session after the latest UK jobs report came in to show that the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits fell to 14.9K in December.

UK jobs report provided a modest lift to the GBP

Adding to this, the previous month's reading was also revised lower to 14.9K from 28.8K reported earlier. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 3.8%, while Average Earnings (Including Bonus) recorded a growth of 3.2% during the three months to November as compared to consensus estimates pointing to a modest downtick to 3.1%.

The data, however, did little to dampen prospects for an imminent rate cut by the Bank of England at its upcoming meeting on January 30. This coupled with concerns that Britain will crash out of the European Union at the end of this year might hold investors from placing aggressive bullish bets and eventually keep a lid on any runaway rally for the major.

With the GBP price dynamics turning out to be an exclusive driver of the intraday price action, the pair seemed rather unaffected by the prevalent bullish sentiment surrounding the US dollar and thus, warrant some caution. Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying before positioning for any further near-term appreciating move.

Technical levels to watch

GBP/USD

Overview
Today last price	1.3012
Today Daily Change	0.0005
Today Daily Change %	0.04
Today daily open	1.3007

Trends
Daily SMA20	1.3072
Daily SMA50	1.3038
Daily SMA100	1.2805
Daily SMA200	1.269

Levels
Previous Daily High	1.3016
Previous Daily Low	1.2962
Previous Weekly High	1.312
Previous Weekly Low	1.2954
Previous Monthly High	1.3515
Previous Monthly Low	1.2896
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1.2995
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1.2983
Daily Pivot Point S1	1.2974
Daily Pivot Point S2	1.2941
Daily Pivot Point S3	1.292
Daily Pivot Point R1	1.3028
Daily Pivot Point R2	1.3049
Daily Pivot Point R3	1.3082

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

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