GBP/USD eases from multi-week tops, trades with modest losses around 1.2300 mark

• A modest pickup in the USD demand on Thursday kept a lid on the up-move.
• Bulls seemed inclined to take some profits off the table after this week’s surge.
• The focus now shifts to the US jobs report and Powell’s scheduled speech.

The GBP/USD pair edged lower through the early European session on Friday and slipped below the 1.2300 handle, eroding a part of the previous session’s up-move to five-week tops.
 
Having dropped to three-year lows at the start of this week, the pair witnessed a dramatic turnaround and rallied nearly 400-pips from the sub-1.20 level in reaction to receding fears of a no-deal Brexit. The British Pound got a strong boost after the UK Parliament passed legislation that would require PM Johnson to ask the EU to delay Brexit for three months beyond October 31.

Bulls take a breather after the recent upsurge

The pair continued gaining strong follow-through traction for the third consecutive session on Thursday and climbed to over one-month high level of 1.2354, albeit a late pickup in the US Dollar demand – supported by surging US bond yields and upbeat US economic data – kept a lid on any strong follow-through momentum.
 
This coupled with the fact that the recent UK political developments have increased odds of a snap election seemed to be one of the key factors that held investors from placing any fresh bullish bets, rather exerted some downward pressure on the major. It is worth reporting that on Monday, the UK lawmakers will hold another vote on a motion on whether to hold an early election.
 
In the meantime, Friday’s important release of the closely watched US monthly jobs report – popularly known as NFP – and the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s scheduled speech will influence the USD price dynamics, which might eventually contribute towards producing some short-term trading opportunities on the last day of the week.

Technical levels to watch