GBP/USD adds to its intraday gains and spikes closer to the weekly high in the last hour.The upbeat UK GDP print continues to underpin the GBP and extend support to the pair.The mixed US NFP report weighs heavily on the USD and provides an additional boost.
The GBP/USD pair catches fresh bids during the early North American session and jumps to the 1.2035-1.2040 area, back closer to the weekly top in reaction to the mixed US monthly jobs data.
The headline NFP showed that the US economy added 311K new jobs in February, beating consensus estimates for a reading of 205K by a big margin. This, however, marks a sharp slowdown from the previous month’s downwardly revised reading of 504K. Adding to this, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.6% from 3.4% and wages also fell short of market estimates, rising by 0.2% for the month and a 4.6% YoY rate.
The data further points to a softening US labor market and forces investors to scale back their bets for a jumbo 50 bps rate hike at the upcoming FOMC meeting on March 21-21, which is evident from a further decline in the US Treasury bond yields. Apart from this, a goodish recovery in the US equity futures weighs heavily on the safe-haven US Dollar, which, in turn, assists the GBP/USD pair to build on its strong intraday gains.
The British Pound, on the other hand, continues to draw support from the better-than-expected UK monthly GDP print, which showed that the economy expanded by 0.3% in January. This indicates a resilient British economy, which could allow the Bank of England (BoE) to hike interest rates again later this month. This is seen as another factor providing a boost to the GBP/USD pair and supporting prospects for additional gains.
EUR/USD hits 1.0700 for the first time in almost three weeks, DXY under pressure
EUR/USD rose further on Friday and peaked at 1.0700, the highest level since February 20. Despite the stronger-than-expected NFP growth, the DXY is falling by more than 0.70% and US yields are sharply lower. The jobs report showed an increase in the Unemployment Rate in February.
EUR/USD News
GBP/USD trims gains after reaching weekly highs above 1.2100
GBP/USD gained traction and climbed to 1.2113, the highest in a week, on Friday amid broad US Dollar weakness. The US jobs report for February showed strong gains in jobs but an increase in the unemployment rate and wages cooling down to the slowest growth in a year.
GBP/USD News
Gold soars and turns positive for the week above as US yields plunge
Gold price jumped to $1,867 on Friday, reaching the highest level in three weeks. Data from the US showed employers added 311K jobs in February surpassing expectations; but an increase in the Unemployment Rate and slow wage growth. US yields slumped, fueling XAU/USD’s upside.
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