• The US dollar was quiet on Monday, and GBP/USD consolidated.
• Compared to expectations of 200K, US nonfarm payrolls climbed by 275K in February.
• To get new momentum in the labor market in the United Kingdom, traders watch employment data.

Throughout Monday’s Asian session, the GBP/USD pair stayed close to 1.2850, indicating that traders are optimistic about the currency’s ability to continue its upward trend, which started on March 1. However, when positive US Nonfarm Payrolls figures were released on Friday, the US Dollar (USD) gained momentum and recovered from intraday losses.

US nonfarm payrolls rose by 275K in February compared to 229K in January and 200K over forecasts. On the other hand, US AHE YoY increased by 4.3%, marginally less than the projected and prior reading of 4.4%. The monthly gain was 0.1%, less than the 0.3% expected and 0.5% from the preceding month.

The markets generally expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to lower interest rates before the Bank of England (BoE), which might temporarily reduce the policy differences between the two central banks. As a result, the GBP/USD pair is still trading in a bullish manner. In his speech before the US Congress last week, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell restated the central bank’s position. Powell suggested that interest rates may be lowered at some point this year, but he clarified that any such move would only occur if the Fed’s 2% inflation target were satisfied.

Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, presented the Spring Budget to Parliament last week. This significantly increased optimism for the UK budget, as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted faster economic growth.

Market players eagerly await the publication of employment data from the United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday, which includes the ILO Unemployment Rate (3M) and Employment Change numbers. Analysts and investors are also keeping a close eye on the February Consumer Price Index data.