GBP/USD Bounces Off the 100 SMA, As UK Services Jump After Reopening

UK servies jump to a decades high in May, sending GBP/USD higher

The bullish trend continues, as the UK economy expands

[[GBP/USD-sponsored]]

GBP/USD has been bullish since March last year, as the USD keeps declining while the GBP increased due to the EU-UK trade deal which was reached last December, which improved the sentiment. In Q1 we saw a retreat in this pair as USD buyers started to fight back, but the bullish trend resumed again in Q2 and this pair broke above the February’s highs.

GBP/USD Live Chart

GBP/USD

Now with the reopening of the country, the UK economy is expanding fast, joining the rest of the world. Services were in recession until March, but they came out of recession in April and in May they jumped to the highest level in decades. GBP/USD bounced off the 100 SMA (green) on the H4 chart, so the bullish trend is back on. We booked profit on EUR/GBP after this jump in GBP/USD, since it sent that pair down.

UK May Final Services PMI

Forexlive Image View

  • May final services PMI 62.9 vs 61.8 prelim
  • Composite PMI 62.9 vs 62.0 prelim
 Stronger revisions only add to the gloss on this report as UK services sector output growth is seen at its quickest in 24 years. The reopening of the economy and looser virus restrictions also saw employment conditions improve at its strongest rate in just over six years.
The only negative in the report is that input cost inflation continues to remain elevated – the highest since July 2008 – with the steepest increase in prices charged by service providers being observed since the survey began in 1996. Markit notes that:

“UK service providers reported the strongest rise in activity for nearly a quarter-century during May as the roll back of pandemic restrictions unleashed pent up business and consumer spending. The latest survey results set the scene for an eye-popping rate of UK GDP growth in the second quarter of 2021, led by the reopening of customer-facing parts of the economy after winter lockdowns.

“Pressure on business capacity due to a spike in demand and staff hiring difficulties emerged as a major challenge for service sector companies in May. Job creation was the strongest for over six years, but backlogs of work accumulated to the greatest extent since the summer of 2014.

“The successful vaccine roll out has generated a strong willingness to spend and fortified business optimism across the service economy. However, inflationary trends intensified in May as suppliers passed on higher transport bills, staff costs and raw material prices. Imbalanced demand and supply appears to have spread beyond the manufacturing sector, which contributed to the steepest rise in prices charged by service providers since the survey began in July 1996.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More
Skerdian Meta
Lead Analyst
Skerdian Meta Lead Analyst. Skerdian is a professional Forex trader and a market analyst. He has been actively engaged in market analysis for the past 11 years. Before becoming our head analyst, Skerdian served as a trader and market analyst in Saxo Bank's local branch, Aksioner. Skerdian specialized in experimenting with developing models and hands-on trading. Skerdian has a masters degree in finance and investment.

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