GBPUSD Movement
For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the GBP declined 0.55% against the USD and closed at 1.3914, after UK’s ILO unemployment rate surprised to the upside in the three months to December 2017.
Britain’s ILO unemployment rate registered an unexpected rise to 4.4% in the October-December period, rising for the first time in nearly 2 years. Markets had anticipated the ILO unemployment rate to remain steady at 4.3%.
On the other hand, the nation’s average earnings including bonus climbed 2.5% on an annual basis in the three months to December 2017, in line with market expectations. The average earnings including bonus had registered a similar rise in the September-November period.
In other economic news, UK’s public sector net borrowing posted a more-than-anticipated surplus of £11.6 billion in January, compared to a revised deficit of £0.3 billion in the previous month. Markets were anticipating public sector net borrowing to report a surplus of £11.4 billion.
Separately, the Bank of England (BoE) Governor, Mark Carney, stated that interest rates may have to rise faster than initially expected in order to keep inflation in check, as domestic inflationary pressures are beginning to firm. However, Carney stopped short of offering any clarity on the timing of the next rate hike.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.3911, with the GBP trading slightly lower against the USD from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.3870, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.3828. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.3981, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.4050.
Trading trend in the Pound today is expected to be determined by the release of UK’s flash 4Q GDP numbers, due to release in a few hours.
The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
