- Summary:
- A better-than-expected Non-Farm Payrolls report adds further strength to the US Dollar and threatens to send the GBP/USD lower.
The US Non-Farm Payroll report released a few minutes ago shows that the US economy added 916K jobs, which beat the market expectation of 652K jobs and also surpassed February’s addition of 468K jobs.
This number represents the highest number of jobs added to the US economy since August 2020. Of this number, 53,000 jobs were added to the manufacturing sector, which continues to be underserved as the number of openings surpasses the number of positions filled.
The better-than-expected payroll data leaves the US Dollar in a strong position to seal a third straight week of gains.
Technical Levels to Watch
The response to the data remains surprisingly muted on the USDJPY and USDCHF, but a good response is starting to emerge on the GBPUSD where a rising wedge on the 4-hour chart is on the verge of a breakdown. Strong USD action on the 4-hour chart has now put the lower wedge border at risk, with a breakdown also threatening the 1.38126 short-term support. If bears take out this area, we may see 1.37463 come into the picture as the initial target, with 1.36771 and 1.36117 lining up as potential additional targets to the south.
On the other hand, recovery on the GBP/USD has to follow a bounce on the 1.38126 support, which targets 1.38616 and 1.39484 along the way. This move would also invalidate the rising wedge pattern.
GBP/USD 4-Hour Chart
