GBP/USD seesaws past-1.3500 on Brexit, Russia news, UK Unemployment Rate eyed

• GBP/USD consolidates recent losses around one-week low, snaps two-day downtrend.
• UK trades more with US than France, Spain and Greece Combined in 2021 amid post-Brexit jitters.
• British Foreign Minister Truss warns over Russian invasion of Ukraine, UK reports 30% low covid infections in last seven days.
• UK jobs report, geopolitical and US PPI will entertain pair traders.

GBP/USD licks its wounds around 1.3530-35 with eyes on the key UK employment report during Tuesday’s Asian session. In doing so, the cable pair prints mild daily gains around a one-week low, after declining for the last two days.

The recent consolidation in the cable prices could be linked to the Brexit headlines and receding fears of an imminent war between Russia and Ukraine. However, inflation fears and Fed-rate-hike concerns join the indecision over the geopolitical issues to keep GBP/USD pressured.

The UK Express cites the latest trade numbers from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) to confirm that Britain did more trade with the US than France, Greece and Spain combined. The news adds to the British bargaining power while the Brexit talks are on. On a different page, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss warns Russia could launch Ukraine invasion ‘almost immediately’, per The Guardian.

On the same line, the Western leaders initially highlighted fears of Russia’s attack on Ukraine during this week before market chatters of February 16 to be the D-day. On the positive side were headlines covering Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who told President Putin that the US had put forward concrete proposals on reducing military risks and that he could see a way to move forward with talks. Russia’s Lavrov also mentioned that EU and NATO responses have not been satisfactory, which in turn highlights risk-off mood despite easing fears.

Furthermore, a 30% reduction in the seven-day average infections and around 27.0% decline in the virus-led deaths highlight improving covid conditions in the UK and help GBP/USD buyers. However, British scientists keep flashing warnings over the virus variants.

Elsewhere, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard reiterated his call for 100 basis points (bps) in interest rate hikes by July 1 by citing the last four inflation reports which show broadening inflationary pressures.

Amid these plays, the US Treasury yields regained upside momentum after stepping back from a 2.5-year high on Friday whereas the Wall Street benchmark closed in the red, despite mildly positive week-start performance.

Moving on, UK employment figures will pave the way for the March rate hike by the Bank of England (BOE), making it important for the GBP/USD traders. That said, the headline Unemployment Rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.1% whereas the Claimant Count Change needs to improve from -43.3K prior to keep the buyers hopeful.

Technical analysis

GBP/USD remains sidelined inside a 100-pip trading range between the 100-DMA and 1.3600. Given the recent rebound in the Momentum indicator, the pair buyers seem to flex muscles ahead of the key data/events.