Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD gains ground to near 1.3360 early European session

FXStreet Team FXStreet

GBP/USD Price Forecast: Gathers strength above 1.3350, but stays capped below 100-day average

The GBP/USD pair trades in positive territory around 1.3360 during the early European session on Friday. The British Pound (GBP) gathers strength against the US Dollar (USD) on a weaker-than-expected US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report.

Signs of a cooling US labor market have prompted financial markets to dial back expectations for a near-term interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve (Fed), weighing on the Greenback and creating a tailwind for the major pair. Financial markets are now pricing in nearly a 52% chance of a US rate hike by September, down from 66% before the jobs data, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Read more...

British Pound strengthens to near 1.3350 as cooling US labor market weighs US Dollar

The GBP/USD pair trades with mild gains near 1.3350 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The US Dollar (USD) edges lower against the British Pound (GBP) on a weaker-than-expected US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. The US markets will be closed on Friday in observance of Independence Day.

The US NFP rose by 57,000 in June, falling short of expectations of 110,000, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed on Thursday. The Unemployment Rate fell to 4.2% during the same period, down from 4.3% in May. That followed a report on Wednesday showing that US private payrolls increased less than expected in June. Read more...

Pound Sterling holds the line, on loan from a cracking Dollar

The Pound bounced off the long-term support line that has repeatedly held near its seven-month lows, clawing back toward the cluster of moving averages overhead. The honest read, though, is that this is a Dollar story more than a Sterling one: a soft US jobs report did the work while the Pound simply caught the updraft. A leaderless government back home keeps a firm lid on any talk of a durable rally in the Pound.

The catalyst sits entirely on the US side of the pair. June Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) landed at just 57K against expectations near 110K, reviving doubts about further Federal Reserve (Fed) tightening and dragging the Dollar lower across the board. GBP/USD is a beneficiary of that move rather than a leader of it. Its floor held this week because the greenback wobbled, not because anyone suddenly decided they wanted to own the Pound. Read more...

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