GBP/USD quickly retreats after a knee-jerk spike to 1.2985 level

The GBP/USD pair faded a knee-jerk bullish spike and quickly retreated over 30-pips from swing highs near 1.2985 region touched in the last hour.

In absence of any hawkish surprise from Wednesday's FOMC meeting minutes, escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and N. Korea has kept a lid on the US Dollar's recent cautious recovery and remained supportive of the mildly positive sentiment surrounding the major through early Asian session on Thursday.

Meanwhile, possibilities of some stops being triggered, on a move beyond 1.2945-50 region seems to be the key driver of the pair's sharp upsurge of nearly 40-pips in a matter of few minutes during the mid-European session. The pair, however, quickly reversed the gains and has now stabilized around mid-1.2900s amid surging US Treasury bond yields, which extended some support to the greenback. 

Investors look forward to a slew of important US macro data. Thursday's US economic docket features the release of trade balance data, ISM non-manufacturing PMI and more importantly private sector employment details - ADP report, which would influence market expectations for Friday's official jobs data (NFP) and should provide some fresh impetus.

   •  US: ADP employment likely to print 185K this month - Rabobank

Technical levels to watch

Bulls would be eyeing for a clear break through the key 1.30 psychological mark, above which the pair seems all set to head towards retesting yearly tops resistance near 1.3040-50 region. On the flip side, retracement back below 1.2930 level now seems to find some fresh buying interest near the 1.2900 handle, which if broken could extend the pair's near-term corrective slide towards 1.2840 support area.