GBP/USD pair dropped to two-and-half-week lows, further below the 1.3600 mark and was pressured by sustained US dollar buying interest. A surprise rate cut – though seems unlikely – or hints of lowering rates in future could exert some heavy downward pressure on the sterling. Conversely, an upbeat economic assessment – amid the speedy rollout of COVID-19 vaccine in the UK – could provide a modest lift to the pound. The EUR/USD pair extended its daily slide despite the upbeat data and was last seen losing 0.42% on a daily basis at 1.1984. ECB provided updates on economic and monetary developments – “The unemployment rate in the euro area declined further in November 2020, helped by an increase in the number of workers covered by job retention schemes.” “Short-term labor market indicators have continued to improve somewhat, but are still signaling contractionary developments.“ The dollar index was up 0.2% at 91.320, near its highest level since early December. USD/JPY rose 0.2% at 105.22 while AUD/USD rose 0.2% at 0.7629.