GBP/USD quickly reverses dismal UK PMI-led knee-jerk slide, back near multi-day tops
• An unexpected fall in the UK services PMI exerts some selling pressure.
• Downside remains cushioned amid fading prospects of a no-deal Brexit.
The GBP/USD pair quickly reversed a knee-jerk slide to levels just below mid-1.3100s and is currently placed at the top end of its daily trading range.
Having jumped to multi-day tops, closer to the 1.3200 handle, the pair started losing momentum and momentarily slipped below mid-1.3100s in reaction to the disappointing release of the UK services PMI, which unexpected fell into contraction territory in March.
The downside, however, remained cushioned in wake of the latest Brexit developments, wherein Conservative's Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour MP Yvette Cooper tabled their motion to vote on a Bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit and extend Article 50.
This coupled with the fact that the UK PM Theresa May announced to ask the EU for an extension of the Brexit deadline and offered for cross-party talks with the opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn extended some additional support and helped limit any meaningful downside.
With the incoming Brexit headlines turning out to be an exclusive driver of the sentiment surrounding the British Pound, the pair seemed rather unaffected, albeit remained supported by some renewed US Dollar selling despite a fresh leg of an upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields.
Technical levels to watch