EUR/GBP extends pullback from 50-DMA amid Omicron, Brexit chatters

• EUR/GBP pares the biggest daily jump in three weeks below short-term key moving average.
• Global scientists, policymaker recheck initial fears from the South African covid variant.
• US, Israel and Australia flash positive signals, UK pushes for the emergency G7 meeting.
• Speech from ECB’s Lagarde, Brexit updates are important too.

EUR/GBP takes offers to refreshes intraday low near 0.8455, down 0.23% intraday ahead of Monday’s London open.

The cross-currency pair jumped the most since early November the previous day amid grim concerns over the South African variant of the coronavirus. However, the recent positive updates concerning Omicron, as the World Health Organization (WHO) dubbed it, seem to have underpinned the market’s cautious optimism.

Even so, the UK is up for calling an emergency Group of Seven (G7) meeting to discuss the pandemic problem. “The British government announced new measures on Saturday to try to slow the spread of the new COVID-19 variant, toughening rules for people arriving in Britain and ordering the use of masks in retail settings and on public transport in England,” said Reuters.

Elsewhere, Brexit tensions remain on the cards and add to the additional challenge for the British Pound (GBP). “UK Brexit Minister Lord David Frost said on Friday that, while we would still like to find a negotiated solution with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol, the gap between our positions is significant and we are ready to use Article 16,” said Reuters on Friday. On the same line were the ongoing UK-France tussles over fishing rights.

Above all, the Bank of England’s (BOE) versus the European Central Bank (ECB) story gains major attention and keeps the EUR/GBP sellers hopeful. The reason could be linked to the ECB policymakers’ sustained rejection of the monetary policy tightening and mixed data contrast to the recently firmer UK details and mixed comments from the BOE board.

It’s worth observing that the latest updates from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Israeli covid official Professor Dror Mevorach joined Australia’s Health Minister Greg Hunt to underpin the latest rebound in the US Treasury yields and the stock futures.

Looking forward, the German Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for November, expected 5.4% YoY versus 4.6% prior, will offer immediate direction to the EUR/GBP price moves. Additionally, updates concerning Brexit and the covid strain, as well as comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde, adds to the watcher’s list.

Technical analysis

Failures to cross 50-DMA direct EUR/GBP sellers towards multiple lows marked during October around 0.8420 before directing the quote to the 0.8400 threshold. Additionally challenging the pair buyers is the descending trend line from September 29, near 0.8560.