- Summary:
- The GBP/USD is in a consolidation level today ahead of the upcoming UK jobs data. We look at the key levels to watch today
The GBP/USD price is in a tight range today as traders eye the on the ongoing Brexit issues and the upcoming UK jobs data. The pair is trading at 1.3330, which is slightly below the yesterday’s high of 1.3443.
What happened: Yesterday, the GBP/USD rallied after the UK and the EU agreed to extend Brexit talks to the “bitter end.” This removed the immediate possibility that the two sides would have an acrimonious divorce on December 31st.
Some media reports also speculated that the two sides were prepared to make some concessions. The pair then pared back some of those gains after the Danish Prime Minister warned about the possibility of no deal.
What about today: To GBP/USD traders, Brexit will be the only game in town for the rest of the year. Therefore, the UK jobs numbers scheduled for 07:00 GMT today will not have a major impact on the pair.
Analysts expect the data will show that the unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in October from 4.8% in the previous month. Also, they expect that average earnings excluding bonuses rose by 2.6% while the claimant count increased by 50K in November.
How will GBP/USD react? As mentioned, unless there’s a major hit or miss, we don’t expect these numbers to have a major impact on the GBP/USD price. Nonetheless, the pair could continue moving lower as evidenced by the bearish flag pattern on the hourly chart. The same will become clear if the pair manages to move below the 25-day and 15-day EMAs.
GBP/USD technical chart
