GBP/USD muted below 1.35 mark post-UK data

   •  Muted reaction to in-line UK manufacturing/trade balance data.
   •  Incoming Brexit headlines continue to infuse volatility.
   •  US jobs data to provide some trading impetus. 

The GBP/USD pair continued with its struggle to gain any strong follow-through traction beyond the key 1.35 psychological mark and had a rather muted reaction to the latest UK manufacturing data.

The pair held near the 1.3480 region, just above session low level of 1.3450 touched earlier today, after data released from the UK showed manufacturing output, which constitutes around 80% of total industrial production, recorded a tepid m-o-m growth of 0.1% in October. 

The reading was in-line with consensus estimates but was well below 0.7% growth reported in the previous month, which along with flat-lined industrial production did little to provide any fresh bullish impetus to the British Pound. 

Separately, the UK goods trade deficit unexpectedly dropped to £10.78 billion in October, bettering expectations pointing to a deficit of £11.45 billion. 

Traders, however, seemed to have largely ignored today’s economic data, with the incoming Brexit headlines turning out to be an exclusive driver of the pair’s movement on the last trading day of the week.

Later during the NA session, the keenly watched NFP report would now be looked upon for some fresh trading impetus. 

Technical levels to watch

A follow-through weakness has the potential to drag the pair back towards 1.3430-25 area en-route the 1.3400 handle and 1.3385 strong support. 

On the upside, the 1.3535 region remains an immediate strong hurdle, above which the upward momentum is likely to accelerate towards the 1.3600 handle en-route Sept. swing high resistance near the 1.3655-60 region.