British Pound (GBP) Latest: GBP/USD Nudges Higher, FTSE 100 Picks-Up as President Trump Takes Action

GBP/USD AND FTSE 100 PRICES, CHART AND ANALYSIS:

• Sterling opens flat to marginally higher as heavyweight data looms large.
• FTSE 100 positive but hurdles remain.

Sterling is making early gains across a range of currencies but it remains to be seen if there will be any follow-through. There is little in the way of fresh Sterling-positive news and with two heavyweight data releases out in the next two days, the British Pound may be vulnerable. The employment data out Tuesday is expected to show unemployment rising by 288k in May although the real picture for unemployment will become clearer later in the year.

On Wednesday, data is expected to show that the UK economy is over 20% smaller than Q2 last year with a monthly Y/Y contraction of 18.5%. Note that GDP data is for June and therefore more timely than the unemployment release.

For all market-moving data releases and events see the DailyFX Economic Calendar

GBP/USD trades either side of 1.3060 and is in a rough short-term 1.3000/1.3180 trading range. A positive on the chart is the formation of a bullish golden-cross with the 50-dma breaking above the 200-dma. The pair have been boosted by recent US dollar weakness and the greenback will likely remain the main driver ahead of this week’s data releases.

GBP/USD DAILY PRICE CHART (NOVEMBER 2019 – AUGUST 10, 2020)

GBP/USD

BEARISH

The FTSE 100 has also opened the week in positive territory after positive sessions in the US and parts of Asia – Tokyo and Singapore were closed. US President Trump used his executive powers to sign-off on an emergency economic aid package after talks in Congress over the second coronavirus relief package ended once again in a stalemate. The FTSE remains in a two-month trading range between 5,850 and 6,350 with little volatility seen in the market (ATR). The FTSE is currently to push back above both the 20- and 50-dmas - 6,102 and 6,260 respectively – with the 50% Fib retracement at 6,233 in the mix for good measure.

FTSE 100 DAILY PRICE CHART (JANUARY – AUGUST 10,2020)

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