GBP/USD Forecast: 100-DMA is the next bullish target, focus on Carney’s speech
|The latest BoE monetary policy decision turned out to be a non-event for the market, through a combination of supporting factors kept pushing the GBP/USD pair higher on Thursday. Against the backdrop of Brexit optimism, broad-based US Dollar selling provided an additional boost and lifted the pair to over six-week tops. Easing US-China trade tensions, coupled with softer US consumer inflation figures prompted some aggressive USD selling and turned out to be one of the key forces behind the pair's strong move beyond the 1.3100 handle.
The pair now seems to have entered a bullish consolidation phase and was seen oscillating in a narrow trading range through the Asian session on Friday. With the USD price dynamics turning out to be an exclusive drier of the pair's momentum, market participants now look forward to important US macroeconomic data, including the retail sales and prelim UoM consumer sentiment index, for some fresh impetus.
Ahead of today's key US releases, investors will focus on the BoE Governor Mark Carney's scheduled speech, due later in the European session. This coupled with any fresh Brexit-related news/development might influence the price action and produce some meaningful trading opportunities on the last trading day of the week.
Looking at the technical picture, the pair has been finding decent dip-buying interest and scaling higher along a short-term ascending trend-line on the 1-hourly chart. Technical indicators on hourly/daily charts are holding well above their mid-lines (bullish territory) and the set-up points to an extension of the positive momentum further towards 100-day SMA hurdle near the 1.3180 region.
On the flip side, the ascending trend-line, currently near mid-1.3000s, might continue to act as an immediate strong support and limit any meaningful retracement slide. A convincing break through the mentioned support, leading to a subsequent weakness below 100-hour SMA near the 1.3030 region might negate the near-term bullish outlook and prompt some aggressive long-unwinding trade.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.