GBP/USD Yawns Despite Strong NFP

US Nonfarm Payrolls impress, but pound yawns

It has been a quiet day on the currency markets, which have shown little movement in the Asian and European sessions. Currently, GBP/USD is trading at 1.2457, down 0.08 percent on the day. With US markets closed for the 4th July Independence Day holiday, we can expect more of the same in the North American session.

It has been an uneventful week for the British pound, despite the release of key indicators on both sides of the pond. On Tuesday, the UK released Final GDP for the first quarter. The release was downwardly revised from -2.0% to -2.2%, reflecting the harsh impact of COVID-19 on the British economy. The dismal figure was the sharpest contraction for the economy since 1979. Analysts expect a rebound in Q2, as lockdown measures have significantly eased. At the same time, a ‘second wave’ of the coronavirus later in the year could devastate the fragile UK economy and send the pound to lower levels.

In the US, a solid non-farm payroll report failed to stir up the markets. In April, non-farm payrolls plunged by a staggering 20 million. However, the economy has regained its footing somewhat since then. The June jobs report showed that payrolls climbed 4.80 million, which comes after a May release of 2.509 million. On Friday, British Services PMI came in at 47.1, upwardly revised from the initial reading of 470 points. This points to contraction in the services sector, but the good news is that the PMI has rebounded sharply – in April, the index came in at an abysmal 13.4 points, indicating severe contraction.

GBP/USD Fundamentals

Thursday (July 2)

  • 19:01 British GfK Consumer Confidence. Estimate -27. Actual -29

Friday (July 3)

  • 8:30 British Services PMI. Estimate 47.0 Actual 47.1 

*All release times are DST

*Key events are in bold

GBP/USD Technical

GBP/USD for Friday, July 3, 2020

GBP/USD showed made an upward move on Thursday, managing to break above the 1.25 line for the first time since June 234. However, the pair was unable to consolidate and ended the day at 1.2468. With US markets closed for Independence Day, there has been little movement in the Asian and European sessions on Friday.

    • 1.2540 is a major resistance level which has held firm since late June
    • 1.2420 is an immediate support level, which could see action early next week.

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.