GBP/USD climbs to session tops, closer to mid-1.2400s

• A subdued USD demand assisted GBP/USD to gain some positive traction on Thursday.
• The uptick seems limited amid concerns over the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

The GBP/USD pair edged higher through the early European session and refreshed daily tops, closer to mid-1.2400s, in the last hour.

Having repeatedly shown some resilience at lower levels, the pair managed to regain some positive traction on Thursday and the uptick was sponsored by a mildly softer tone surrounding the US dollar.

Against the backdrop of a fresh leg down in the US Treasury bond yields, a modest recovery in the global risk sentiment undermined the greenback's relative safe-haven status against its British pound.

This coupled with some cross-driven strength, stemming from the ongoing fall in the EUR/GBP pair, provided an additional boost and remained supportive of the intraday positive move on Thursday.

Despite the uptick, the pair remains well within a broader trading range held since the beginning of this week as investors await a fresh catalyst before positioning for the next leg of a directional move.

Meanwhile, the fact that Fitch recently lowered its UK long-term issuer default rating, coupled with concerns over the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic might cap any strong gains.

Moving ahead, market participants now look forward to the release of the US initial weekly jobless claims data for some meaningful trading opportunities later during the early North-American session.

Technical levels to watch