Image Source: Unsplash

• The pound climbed over the greenback after markets surged in the NFP aftermath on Friday.
• US jobs additions easily cleared expectations, but revisions loom ahead.
• US data dominated trading on Friday. The UK will look ahead to GDP and output figures next Friday.

The GBP/USD currency pair climbed into a new high for the year at 1.2771 after markets broadly went risk-on after the US Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) data release surged above median forecasts, adding 216,000 new jobs in December. The NFP print trounced market expectations of 170,000. Still, November saw a steep revision from 199,000 to 173,000, with even further revisions being made to October’s already-revised 150,000, bringing it down to just 105,000.

Despite revisions continuing to plague key datasets, markets surged on the NFP forecast-beater, which pushed the US dollar broadly lower and sent the pound to a new 2024 high.

US Average Hourly Earnings for the year through December also beat expectations, climbing from 4.0% to 4.1% versus the forecast tick down to 3.9%. Additionally, the US Unemployment Rate also beat the street, holding steady at 3.7% against the forecast increase to 3.8%.

Earlier on Friday, UK Halifax Housing Prices rebounded for the annualized fourth quarter, climbing 1.7% after the previous quarter’s -0.8% backslide (revised up slightly from -1.0%). UK data was strictly low-impact and barely moved the needle as markets were bracing for NFP readings at the time.

Coming up next week will be BRC Like-For-Like Retail Sales on Tuesday, and then a clear data docket from the UK until next Friday’s Manufacturing & Industrial Production, as well as UK GDP figures.

US data will once again feature heavily next week, with US Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for December printing on Thursday, as well as Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for January both printing on Friday.

Pound Sterling Price This Week

The table below shows the percentage change of the pound against listed major currencies this week. Sterling was the strongest against the Japanese yen.

GBP/USD Technical Outlook

It was a down-then-up week for the pound, kicking off 2024 with broad gains against the majority of major currency peers. As markets wound down towards the Friday closing bell, the pound found itself up over two and a half percent against the yen this past week, with a 1.4% gain against the Aussie and 1.1% against the kiwi.

The only contender taking wind out of the pound's sails was the US dollar itself, which kept mostly flat on the week and strapped the GBP/USD currency pair to a tight range around the 1.2700 handle.

Bids on the GBP/USD currency pair remained constrained within easy reach of the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), and a rough near-term consolidation range appeared to be baking into the daily candlesticks.

GBP/USD Hourly Chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

GBP/USD Daily Chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

GBP/USD Technical Levels

More By This Author: