GBP/USD clings to gains near 1-1/2 week tops post-UK PMI, focus shifts to NFP

   “¢   The latest Brexit optimism continues to underpin the British Pound.
   “¢   Today’s upbeat UK construction PMI provides an additional boost.
   “¢   Traders now look forward to the US NFP report for fresh impetus.

The GBP/USD pair extended its intraday positive momentum and climbed to 1-1/2 week tops, closer to mid-1.3000s, post-UK macro data.

After yesterday’s upsurge, marking the biggest one-day rally since April 18, the pair continued gaining positive traction for the third consecutive session and built on this week’s strong recovery move from 2-1/2 month lows.  

Against the backdrop of the latest Brexit optimism and a hawkish BoE interest rate outlook, today’s better-than-expected UK construction PMI, coming in at 53.2 for October, provided an additional boost to the British Pound.

This coupled with the ongoing US Dollar retracement from near 17-month tops, despite some a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields, remained supportive of the pair’s positive momentum to the highest level since Oct. 23.

Bulls, however, now seemed taking some breather and preferred to wait on the sidelines ahead of today’s key event risk – the closely watched US monthly jobs report, popularly known as NFP, before positioning for the next leg of directional move.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is pegged near the 1.3065-70 region, above which the pair is likely to aim towards reclaiming the 1.3100 handle. On the flip side, the key 1.30 psychological mark now becomes an immediate support to defend, which if broken might prompt some additional profit-taking slide towards the 1.2950-45 region.