GBP/USD surrenders a major part of early gains amid persistent Brexit uncertainties

   “¢   Bulls failed to capitalize on early up-move led by renewed USD weakness.
   “¢   Brexit uncertainties continued to dent sentiment around the British Pound.
   “¢   The developments set the stage for the resumption of the depreciating move.

The GBP/USD pair faded an early European session bullish spike to an intraday high level of 1.2777 and is currently placed near the lower end of its daily trading range.  

The pair did get a minor boost from the prevalent US Dollar selling bias, though the upside remained capped amid persistent uncertainties surrounding Britain’s exit from the European Union.

The British Pound lost some additional ground, triggering a sharp decline of over 50-pips in the past hours following DUP member Sammy Wilson’s comments, saying that proposals on Irish backstop are fairly meaningless.

Meanwhile, the UK parliament resumed debate on the PM Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement and the Speaker of the House of Commons – John Bercow selected the Grieve amendment, wherein MPs have a say in what happens next if May’s Brexit deal is rejected in the meaningful vote on Jan. 15.

The decision brings along plenty of uncertainties – like a possible second referendum or a no-deal outcome, which might keep the GBP bulls on the back-foot, rather prompt some fresh selling on every attempted up-move.

Hence, any attempted up-move back towards the 1.2800 handle is likely to be seen as a selling opportunity, setting the stage for the resumption of the pair’s prior depreciating move and a sustained break below the 1.2700 mark.

Technical levels to watch