GBP/USD refreshes 31-month top above 1.3600 as UK Parliament approves Brexit deal

• GBP/USD stays on the front foot near the multi-month top, rises for the third consecutive day.
• UK’s House of Lords approved post-Brexit trade agreement, as expected.
• UK PM Johnson said Britain is in a “race” to roll out covid vaccine to avoid a third national lockdown.

GBP/USD rises to the fresh high since May 2018 around 1.3640 during Thursday’s Asian session. The pair recently benefited from the news that the British policymakers backed the post-Brexit trade deal agreed with the European Union. It should, however, be noted that the lack of major reaction to the news could be witnessed, despite have a positive impact on the quote, as it was widely expected.

Having gone through five-hour-long intense talks in the House of Commons, the Brexit trade deal crossed the upper house of the UK’s Parliament just before the final day of Britain in the bloc. Although, the trade deal is welcomed for its no tariff and no quota style, a lack of attention on the services that contribute majorly to the British GDP, joins some regional difference to gain criticism.

Read:Brexit deal approved by UK Parliament, GBP/USD stays positive above 1.3600

Contrary to the Brexit optimism, the coronavirus (COVID-19) challenges in the UK are probing the GBP/USD bulls. Latest updates suggest that PM Johnson is worried over the jump in the virus cases that recently refreshed record top above 50,000 daily new cases. Also propelling the virus woes could be the news from The Guardian suggesting the British medical officers’ push for first-doses of the coronavirus (COVID-19) considering a surge in the death doll.

On the other hand, US policymakers keep jostling over the covid aid paycheck of $2,000 before Tuesday’s Georgia runoff. However, vaccine developments and hopes that the Joe Biden government will be stimulus-friend keep traders cautiously optimistic.

Against this backdrop, S&P 500 Futures rise 0.11% while tracking the Wall Street benchmarks to the north.

Looking forward, virus updates can entertain the market player amid a light calendar and the year-end holiday mood.

Technical analysis

Unless declining back below the early-month high near 1.3620, not to forget the 1.3600 round-figure, GBP/USD bulls are up for challenging March 2018 low around 1.3710.