British Pound (GBP) Latest: GBP/USD Drifting Lower as US Jobs Report Nears

GBP/USD Price, Chart and Analysis:

• GBPUSD pairing weekly gains.
• Heavyweight UK data next week will steer Sterling.

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Sterling is fading lower against the US dollar in typically quiet pre-US NFP turnover yet still retains some of this week’s gains, in part due to US dollar weakness. The pair touched a multi-month high on Thursday but with the US Labour report impending, it is not surprising that the GBP/USD did not move higher. The monthly report weighs heavily on turnover and with last month’s report producing a sizeable beat of all analyst’s expectations, traders need to be wary of any revisions to last month’s data.

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GBP/USD is close to recovering all of the COVID-19 sell-off seen in March and will need new drivers to push further higher. There is little in the way of Brexit news to help out traders, while this week’s Bank of England policy meeting revealed little of note. Next week however is slightly more interesting with UK employment statistics and GBP data released mid-week. The employment number will be very closely parsed with heavy job losses seen across the country in the past few weeks, and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak may need to extend help to those hit the hardest.

Ahead of the US report, GBP/USD is trying to use 1.3100 as a short-term supportive base, although this is under pressure. Recent lows between 1.2980 and 1.3150 should provide a supportive zone. One bullish signal on the chart is the impending ‘golden cross’ with the 50-dma just about to break above the 200-dma.

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GBP/USD Daily Price Chart (January – August 7, 2020)

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