GBP/USD Rebounds Slightly on Friday Amid Mixed Data

The GBP/USD currency pair experienced a modest recovery on Friday, closing above the 1.2400 level. This move coincided with a generally risk-on sentiment in the market.

While UK economic data releases, including macroeconomic and consumer credit figures, largely disappointed, their impact on market sentiment was minimal. Conversely, positive US ISM Manufacturing PMI data boosted investor optimism. The PMI reading for December exceeded expectations, reaching 49.3, its highest level in nine months. However, underlying concerns remain, with the ISM Manufacturing Employment and Prices Paid indices both falling short of forecasts, suggesting that producer-level inflation continues to rise and job cuts are more widespread than anticipated.

The upcoming week will feature a relatively quiet economic calendar for the UK, with only low-impact data releases scheduled. In the US, markets will be closed on Thursday to observe the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. The week will culminate with the release of the highly anticipated US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday.

Technical Outlook

Despite the late-day bullish push, the GBP/USD pair remains bearish for the week, with a 1.3% decline. The current price action suggests a potential further drop towards the 2024 lows near 1.2300.

Technically, the bearish bias is reinforced by a bearish cross of the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), which acts as a technical resistance level for any bullish attempts.