Pound Rallies Higher on Mixed Jobs Data and Upbeat Investor Sentiment

The British pound today rallied higher against the US dollar extending yesterday’s gains driven by positive investor sentiment and the  mixed UK jobs data. The GBP/USD currency pair today posted gains after the release of the latest jobs data showing a better than expected unemployment rate.
The  GBP/USD currency pair today rallied from a  daily low of  1.2184 in  the  Asian session to  a  high of  1.2268 in  the  early American session but was slightly off these highs at  the  time of  writing.
The currency pair rallied higher today extending yesterday’s short squeeze as the bulls controlled the price action. The pair spiked to its daily highs after the release of the latest UK labour market report by the  Office for  National Statistics before the  London open. The  data indicated that the  number of  job vacancies in  the  UK halved during the  month of  April coming in  at  350,000 versus the  expected 750,000 openings. However, the  unemployment rate came in  at  3.9%, which was better than the  expected 4.4% triggering the  pair’s spike. The  number of  jobless claims was also higher than expected painting a  bleak picture of  the  UK job market.
The  cable’s gains were limited by  the  current uncertainty surrounding the  easing of  COVID-19 lockdown measures in  the  UK. The  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently admitted his frustration with the  easing measures that have been opposed by  some leaders.
The  currency pair’s future performance is likely to  be affected by  tomorrow’s multiple UK releases and  news headlines.
The  GBP/USD currency pair was trading at  1.2260 as  at  17:29 GMT having rallied from a  low of  1.2184. The  GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at  132.12 having risen from a  low of  130.78.
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