GBP/USD rebounds from 1.40 mark, 2-week lows post-US data

   •  GBP weighed down by yet another weaker UK PMI print.
   •  A modest uptick in the USD demand adds to the downward pressure.
   •  Disappointing US jobless claims/US trade data helps defend 1.40 mark.

The GBP/USD pair extended its rejection slide from the 1.4100 handle and tumbled to fresh 2-week lows in the last hour, albeit quickly recovered few pips thereafter. 

On Thursday, the British Pound came under some renewed selling pressure following yet another disappointment from the UK economic data, with the Markit services PMI falling more than expected to 51.7 in March. 

This coupled with a modest uptick in the US Dollar demand, supported by a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields further collaborated to the pair's retracement slide below its 6-day old familiar trading range. 

The pair dropped to the key 1.40 psychological mark but quickly recovered to 1.4025 area following disappointing releases of weekly jobless claims and trade balance data from the US.

Technical outlook

Valeria Bednarik, FXStreet's own American Chief Analyst writes: “In the 4 hours chart, the price is a handful of pips below a directionless 20 SMA, while technical indicators turned lower, the Momentum still within neutral territory, but the RSI gaining downward traction around 45. Below the mentioned 1.4010, a strong static support comes at 1.3985, with a break below this last, supporting a steeper decline ahead regardless of data or market's sentiment.”