GBP/USD steadies around 1.3350 amid Brexit hopes, eyes on Ukraine, US NFP

GBP/USD remains on the way to second weekly loss despite the latest inaction.
Chatters over UK PM Johnson’s retreat from triggering Article 16 before Stormont’s elections may help in Brexit talks.
Traders remain cautiously optimistic despite Russia-Ukraine agreement over safe passage to civilians from Kyiv.
US NFP, risk catalysts may keep exerting downside pressure on the quote but the odds of surprises can’t be ruled out.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

GBP/USD bears took a breather around 1.3345-50 amid Brexit optimism during early Friday morning in Asia. Even so, the cable pair remains on the back foot for the second consecutive week as the US dollar cheers cautious mood in the market, mainly due to the Ukraine-Russia standoff and chatters over the Fed’s 0.50% rate hike in March.

The Financial Times (FT) came out with the news quoting some of the UK Government insiders while saying, “War in Ukraine has reshaped ministerial thinking on the protocol ahead of May’s Stormont elections.” The news makes sense and can help break the deadlock over the Northern Ireland (NI) talks in the latest Brexit negotiations.

On a different page, Kyiv and Moscow agreed for a safe passage for Ukraine’s civilians during the second round of talks and showed readiness for the third phase of negotiations. The positive development should have ideally favored risk appetite but doubts over Russian military intentions keep traders skeptical.

Elsewhere, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his support for a 0.25% rate hike, actually showing readiness for a 0.50% rate-lift in the March meeting amid rising inflation fears. The same joined mixed US data and the market’s anxiety to keep the US Dollar Index (DXY) on a front foot for the fourth consecutive week. It’s worth noting that the greenback gauge renewed 21-month high the previous day.

That said, US ISM Services PMI eased for the third consecutive month in its latest release but the second-tier job data and Factory Orders came in positive. At home, UK Services PMI for February eased below 60.8 initial forecasts to 60.5.

Against this backdrop, US Treasury yields and Wall Street closed in red, despite the initial positive performance, but the S&P 500 Futures print mild gains by the press time.

Looking forward, GBP/USD traders may keep their eyes on the risk catalysts for fresh impulse. Also important will be the monthly readings of the US jobs report, mainly the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) figure.

Read: US Nonfarm Payrolls February Preview: Fed policy runs through Kyiv

Technical analysis

GBP/USD remains inside a 170-pip trading range between 1.3270 and 1.3440 since last week but sustained trading below the previous support line from late December 2021 keeps the pair sellers hopeful.

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	1.3347
Today Daily Change	-0.0053
Today Daily Change %	-0.40%
Today daily open	1.34

Trends
Daily SMA20	1.3519
Daily SMA50	1.3527
Daily SMA100	1.3495
Daily SMA200	1.3662

Levels
Previous Daily High	1.3404
Previous Daily Low	1.3272
Previous Weekly High	1.3638
Previous Weekly Low	1.3273
Previous Monthly High	1.3644
Previous Monthly Low	1.3273
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1.3353
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1.3322
Daily Pivot Point S1	1.3313
Daily Pivot Point S2	1.3227
Daily Pivot Point S3	1.3182
Daily Pivot Point R1	1.3445
Daily Pivot Point R2	1.349
Daily Pivot Point R3	1.3577

Author

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

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