Cable Pauses Losing Streak amid UK Job Data

The Great Britain Pound (GBP) inched higher against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday, increasing the price of GBPUSD to more than 1.3150 following some key economic events. The technical bias remains bullish because of a higher low in the recent upside rally.

GBP/USD Technical Analysis

As of this writing, the pair is being traded near 1.3187. A hurdle may be noted around 1.3655 (a major horizontal resistance zone) ahead of 1.3900(a psychological level) and then 1.3943 (another major resistance area).

On the downside, a support can be noted around 1.3100 (a psychological number) ahead of 1.2634 (the low of the last major downside move) and then 1.2500 (the confluence of horizontal support as well as psychological number) as demonstrated in the given above chart. The technical bias shall remain bullish as long as the 1.2700 support area is intact.

UK Job Data

Wage growth across the UK is still lagging behind inflation, even though the unemployment rate remains at its lowest level in 42-years. Average earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 2.1% per year in the three months to August.

Including bonuses, wages rose by 2.2%. That means that real wages are still shrinking — inflation was 2.6% in July (the mid-point of the quarter), and jumped to 3% in September.

The Office for National Statistics also reports that Britain’s unemployment rate remained at 4.3%, the lowest since 1975, thanks to another drop in the number of people out of work.

Trade Idea

Considering the overall technical and fundamental outlook, selling the pair around current levels may be a good strategy in short to medium term.