GBP/USD fails to hold onto recovery gains ahead of UK Services PMI

• GBP/USD again comes under pressure amid fresh news from Britain, broad US dollar strength.
• The UK PM’s policies on the jurisdiction, the environment gets criticism, odds for tough EU-UK talks increase.
• Updates from China, Brexit headlines could also join economic signals to offer an active day.

GBP/USD pulls back to 1.3025 while heading into the London open on Wednesday. The Cable fails to extend the previous day’s recovery amid fresh accusations on the UK PM Boris Johnson’s crackdown on jurisdiction concerning terrorists and environment protection.

The Tory leader announced to repeal the law that allowed terrorists to be freed from jail after completing half the term. However, the opposition Labour Party lawmakers raised doubts over the Tories’ ability to pass any such regulations. Also weighing on the sentiment could be the widespread criticism of the UK PM Johnson’s environment policies that postpone performance on a net-zero emissions economy.

On the other hand, the greenback remains on the front foot following upbeat data flashed the previous day. It should also be noted that cautious optimism, amid fears of coronavirus, keeps the USD as market’s favorite.

The pair registered gains the previous day as the absence of further negatives on the EU-UK trade talks as well as better than forecast UK Construction PMI played their role.

Traders will now keep eyes on the final readings of the UK Services PMI for January. The Key activity gauge is likely to remain unchanged at 52.9. However, any surprise upside could reverse the early-day losses as it will then join the recent positive data from Britain.

The US economic calendar also has some key data concerning employment, activity and trade that are likely to justify the greenback’s strength. In this regard, analysts at TD Securities said, “We forecast the ISM non-manufacturing index to rise modestly to 55.3 in Jan following an already-strong 54.9 print in Dec, as the Phase One deal should give a marginal boost to sentiment. Separately, we anticipate a strong surge in ADP employment for Jan at 230k, up from 202k, and expect the trade deficit to have widened to USD 48.8bn in Dec.”

Technical Analysis

While a six-week-old rising trend line, at 1.2985 now, restricts the pair’s immediate declines, 21-day SMA at 1.3060, guards the quote’s immediate upside.