Pound Swings From Losses to Gains on Shifting Market Sentiment

The  Sterling pound today headed lower at  the  start of  the  session, driven by  the  risk-off market sentiment from yesterday as  investors reacted to  escalating US-China tensions. The  GBP/USD currency pair later recovered and  rallied higher primarily driven by  the  greenback’s oscillating between gains and  losses as  it ignored upbeat UK jobs data.
The  GBP/USD currency pair today rallied from a  low of  1.2520 to  a  high of  1.2623 before giving up all its gains to  trade in  negative territory at  the  time of  writing.
The  currency pair headed lower initially due to  the  low investor risk appetite, given the  rising Sino-US geopolitical tensions. The  release of  the  UK labour market report for  June had a  muted impact on  the  pair, which kept falling. According to  the  Office for  National Statistics, the  UK’s unemployment rate remained the  same at  3.9%, while the  number of  jobless claims fell by  28,100 versus the  expected 250,000 print. The  pair rallied higher from the  mid-London session while the  greenback fell as  tracked by  the  US Dollar Index, which hit a  low of  95.89.
The  release of  the  upbeat US retail sales data for  June by  the  Census Bureau had a  minimal impact on  the  cable, which was rising at  the  time. The  pair later fell as  the  US dollar rallied higher driven by  risk-off market sentiment, which saw equity markets head lower.
The  currency pair’s future performance is likely to  be affected by  geopolitical events given tomorrow’s empty UK dockets.
The  GBP/USD currency pair was trading at  1.2550 as  at  18:55 GMT, having fallen from a  high of  1.2623. The  GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at  134.77, having rallied from a  low of  134.05.
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