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The GBP/USD pair oscillates in a range below mid-1.2700s during the Asian session on Friday and consolidates its recent gains registered over the past three days, to over a three-week high touched the previous day. Traders now seem reluctant to place aggressive bets and opt to wait for the release of the crucial US monthly employment details later today. The popularly known Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report will be looked upon for the interest rate outlook in the US and guide the Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers on their next policy decision at the December meeting. This, in turn, will help determine the near-term trajectory for the US Dollar (USD) and provide some meaningful impetus to the GBP/USD pair. In the meantime, the recent decline in the US Treasury bond yields fails to assist the USD attract any meaningful buyers or recover from a multi-week low. That said, expectations that the US central bank will adopt a cautious stance on cutting rates, amid hopes that US President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will boost inflation, act as a tailwind for the buck. Apart from this, a softer risk tone and persistent geopolitical tensions benefit the safe-haven USD. This, along with Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey’s signal for four interest rate cuts in 2025, holds back traders from placing bullish bets around the British Pound (GBP) and caps the GBP/USD pair. Nevertheless, spot prices seem poised to register modest gains for the second straight week, though any further move up is more likely to confront stiff barrier near a technically significant 200-day Simple Moving Average S(AM), around the 1.2820 area. This further makes it prudent to wait for strong follow-through buying before confirming that the GBP/USD pair has formed a near-term bottom and positioning for an extension of the recent goodish recovery from sub-1.2500 levels, or a multi-month low touched in November.More By This Author:WTI Struggles Near Weekly Low, Below $68.00 Mark As Traders Await US NFP Report USD/CAD Slides Back Closer To Mid-1.4000s Amid Modest USD Weakness Japanese Yen Sticks To Modest Intraday Gains Against Usd; Lacks Follow-through
