Pound Crashes Against US Dollar on Upbeat US PMI Data

The  Sterling pound today attempted to  rally against the  US dollar, but the  rally was shortlived as  the  greenback reversed course and  drove the  pound lower. The  GBP/USD currency pair today rallied to  its daily highs before heading lower as  investor appetite for  the  pound waned amid a  rejuvenated dollar.
The  GBP/USD currency pair today rallied to  a  high of  1.3070 in  the  early London session before falling to  a  low of  1.2956 in  the  American session but had recovered some of  its losses at  the  time of  writing.
The  currency pair remained on  the  back foot today as  the  EU and  the  UK maintained their tough negotiating positions as  Brexit talks kick-off. The  lack of  significant economic releases from the  UK docket meant that the  cable’s performance was heavily influenced by  the  greenback as  tracked by  the  Dollar Index. The  release of  the  upbeat Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI, which came in  at  53.9 beating consensus estimates set at  52.9, pushed the  pair to  its daily highs. However, the  pair fell shortly afterwards as  the  greenback embarked on  a  major rally pushing the  US Dollar Index to a high of 98.32.
The  cable hit its daily lows in  the  early American session following the  release of  upbeat US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI for  January, which came in  at  55.5 versus estimates set at  55.0. The  positive Markit US Services PMI print, which was recorded at  53.4 beating expectations by  0.2, also contributed to  the  pair’s woes.
The  currency pair’s future performance is likely to  be affected by  geopolitical events, including Brexit headlines.
The  GBP/USD currency pair was trading at  1.2989 as  at  19:46 GMT having fallen from a  high of  1.3070. The  GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at  142.65 having dropped from a  high of  143.39.

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