The GBP/USD is rising today ahead of the UK employment numbers scheduled for tomorrow and the Fed interest rate decision set for Wednesday. The GBPUSD is trading at 1.3713 which is higher than last week’s low at 1.3518.
What’s happening: The UK and US economic calendars will be relatively muted today. But tomorrow, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) will publish the UK jobs numbers. In general, economists believe that the country’s unemployment rate rose as the number of new coronavirus continued to rise. Also, they expect that companies continued their layoffs in December due to the lockdowns.
The GBP/USD is also rising ahead of the FOMC rate decision that will come out on Wednesday. While the Fed will not tweak its policies, a hawkish tone will lead to a stronger dollar while a dovish Fed will lead to weaker greenback. The GBP/USD will also react to the US GDP data.
The GBP/USD has been rising in the past few sessions. On the four-hour chart, the price is above the 25-day weighted moving average. It has also formed a rising wedge pattern on the four-hour chart. Also, the price is along the previous first resistance of the standard pivot points.
Therefore, while the rising wedge is usually a bearish signal, the pair has a long way to go to reverse lower. As such, in the near term, I believe that a move to 1.3800 is possible.