- GBP/USD struggles to defend the latest bounce off the intraday low.
- UK rules out publishing Covid Reproduction numbers amid declining virus cases.
- China removes quarantine requirements for inbound travelers and resumes processing citizens’ applications for ordinary passports.
- Firmer US Treasury yields, doubts on China Covid unlock keep bears hopeful amid year-end holiday season.
UK Health Security Agency Chief Data Scientist Nick Watkins said in a statement, per Reuters, “Now that vaccines and therapeutics have allowed us to move to a phase where we are living with COVID-19, with surveillance scaled down but still closely monitored through several different indicators, the publication of this specific data is no longer necessary.” The news also stated that Britain would continue to publish its weekly flu and COVID-19 surveillance report and infection surveys.
Even so, a US Official mentioned, per Reuters, that the US government may impose new COVID-19 measures on travelers to the United States from China over concerns about the “lack of transparent data” coming from Beijing.
It’s worth noting that the positive headlines surrounding the virus renewed hawkish concerns over the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and propelled the US Treasury yields, which in turn allowed the US Dollar Index (DXY) to regain upside momentum the previous day. The greenback’s gauge versus the six major currencies grinds higher to around 104.20 by the press time.
Technical analysis
An upward-sloping support line from November 30, around the 1.2000 psychological magnets by the press time, restricts the GBP/USD pair’s short-term downside. Alternatively, a convergence of the 200-SMA and one-week-old descending trend line highlights the 1.2080 level as the critical upside hurdle for the Cable bulls.
