GBP/USD under pressure ahead of Super Saturday

GBP/USD is flashing red at press time, possibly due to fears that Prime Minister Boris Johnson may fail to pass the new Brexit agreement in the UK parliament on Saturday.

The currency pair is currently trading near 1.2850, representing a 0.30% loss on the day, having hit a high of 1.2990 on Thursday. That was the highest level since May 13.

The Pound picked up a strong bid in the European session on Thursday on reports the UK and European Union (EU) have reached a Brexit withdrawal agreement.

The rise to five-month highs, however, was short-lived, as initial optimism faded on the realization that the deal could be rejected by the UK parliament.

Super Saturday

In an extraordinary Saturday sitting, the first since 1982, the parliament will vote on approving the new Brexit deal.

Getting the deal approved is going to be an uphill task for Prime Minister Johnson, as the Democratic Unionist Party – government's Northern Irish ally – has rejected the deal.

Further, Johnson's Conservatives have no majority in the 650-seat House of Commons and will face a deeply divided parliament where his opponents are trying to force both a delay to Brexit and another referendum, as per Reuters report.

Traders, therefore, may unwind GBP long positions ahead of Super Saturday, keeping the GBP/USD pair under pressure.

As per technical charts, the immediate bullish case would weaken below the 50-hour moving average support at 1.2821. This is because the key average consistently reversed pullbacks throughout the recent rally from 1.22 to 1.2990.

Technical levels