Forexpros – The pound was almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar in holiday-thinned trade on Monday, as markets were jittery amid new uncertainty over the extent of the U.S. economic recovery following Friday’s downbeat nonfarm employment data.
GBP/USD hit 1.5836 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since March 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5865, edging down 0.04%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.3010, the low of March 14 and resistance at 1.3140, the high of February 6.
The U.S. Department of Labor said Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by a meager 120,000 in March, the lowest since December and well below expectations for a 203,000 increase.
It was the first time since November that hiring failed to top the 200,000 level, renewing concerns over the health of the U.S. economy.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 8.2%, the lowest since January 2009, from 8.3% in February. However, the data showed that the decline stemmed entirely from people dropping out of the labor force.
The disappointing data revived expectations that the Fed may conduct a fresh round of quantitative easing, which would weaken the dollar.
Investors were also cautious after official data earlier showed that consumer price inflation in China accelerated by 3.6% in March, up from 3.2% in February and above expectations for a 3.3% increase.
The data dampened expectations Beijing will introduce fresh monetary easing measures to shore up the world’s second largest economy.
Elsewhere, the pound was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP shedding 0.16%, to hit 0.8237.
Trading volumes were thin as markets in the U.K. and the euro zone remained closed due to the Easter holiday.
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