Fundamental view:
The British pound initially fell during the course of the week but then turned around to show signs of strength. The US currency has been unable to continue January’s modest improvement and faces a test in the week ahead with payrolls on February 5. The UK employment picture, better than expected despite the pandemic provided the pound with some additional support in a week with little data. Brexit did not impact much the trend.
US Durable Goods Orders excl. Defense monthly report on 27th January and US New Home Sales on 28th January favored downtrend whereas US Chicago Fed National Activity Index on 25th January and US CB Consumer Confidence Index on 26th January favored uptrend for the pair.
The major economic events deciding the movement of the pair in the next week are US ISM Manufacturing PMI at Feb 01, US ADP Nonfarm Employment Change, US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI at Feb 03, BoE Interest Rate Decision, US Initial Jobless Claims at Feb 04, BoE Governor Bailey Speech, and US Nonfarm Payrolls at Feb 05.
GBP/USD Weekly outlook: