The pound is struggling today against greenback due to heightened nerves about the global growth outlook and as trader’s awaited U.S. jobs data for a clue on the timing of Federal Reserve policy tightening. Investors are investing in greenback due to raising concerns about the central bank and higher inflation in November. Traders are keen on Washington’s talks to raise the US debt ceiling to avoid the government’s first instalment. The pound has pushed a weaker tone as investors have turned their attention away from fuel shortages and supply chain restrictions in the UK to expectations that the Bank of England could become the UK’s first major central bank to hike rates after the COVID-19 crisis.

British military personnel in combat fatigues arrived on Monday at a BP (BP.L) storage depot after the government ordered the army to help deliver fuel to tackle an acute shortage of truckers, a Reuters reporter said. Britain’s supply chains for everything from pork, petrol and poultry to medicines and milk have been strained to breaking point by shortages of labour in the wake of the Brexit and COVID crises. Panic buying of fuel amid the shortage of truckers triggered chaotic scenes across major cities last week with queues of drivers stacked up. Some have had fist fights over the pumps while others hoarded fuel in old water bottles. Energy and other prices are rising, stirring fears of inflation, even as a bonus provided to many welfare recipients during the coronavirus pandemic is being withdrawn, and a furlough system that supported workers sent home is ending.

Same time France President Emmanuel Macron plotted with European Union chiefs to halt the export of jabs to Britain earlier this year.  Recently it was reported that a huge batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine which had been expected to arrive in the UK was instead diverted from Holland at the last minute. France ‘stole’ almost five million coronavirus vaccine doses which had been destined for Britain. The UK’s relations with France and Brussels hit a low in March when the domestic vaccine roll-out tore ahead of the EU’s.

On the other hand, as the Greenback is a safe haven, traders were on the lookout ahead of the weekend key payrolls report. Analysts said moves in the FX market would be largely stalled by the weekend as investors waited for a revival in the U.S. labor market, which could help the central bank provide hints as to whether it will begin its asset purchases by the end of the year. According to Reuters, non-farm pay data on Friday are expected to show continued improvement in the labor market, adding 488,000 jobs in September.

The pound is struggling despite encouraging economic data. September members’ UK services sector performance rose to 55.4 from an initial estimate of 54.6. However, the prices in this sector have shown huge records. For now, traders are focusing on the UK construction PMI and US ADP employment shift to gauge market sentiment. And Friday Non-Farm payroll data will entertain the trader.

GBP/USD 4 Hour Chart:

Support: 1.3588 (S1), 1.3555 (S2), 1.3525 (S3).

Resistance: 1.3651 (R1), 1.3681 (R2), 1.3715 (R3).

All of the above catalysts makes the pound to trade downside amidst the UK’s fuel crisis and US Jobs data expectations. We expect a bearish trend for GBP/USD.