GBP/USD analysis: Pound at its highest in over a month ahead of BOE

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

GBP/USD Current price: 1.4147

The Bank of England is largely expected to remain on hold.
UK employment figures offset inflation's readings in terms of price reaction.

The Pound got a nice boost at the beginning of the European session, in the form of UK employment data. The number of people in work in the UK reached a new high of 32.2 million in the three months to January, according to official figures, leading to a record low in the unemployment rate of 4.3%. Additionally, wages advanced, closing the gap with inflation. Average hourly earnings excluding bonus came in a 2.6% as expected while excluding bonus jumped to 2.8%. Yearly inflation stands at 2.7% according to data released on Tuesday. The GBP/USD pair jumped traded as high as 1.4078, ahead of the Fed, breaking higher and reaching the 1.4140 region afterward, to end the day at its highest since early February. The kingdom will release February Retail Sales this Thursday, seen up monthly basis 0.4%, but more relevant, the BOE will have its monetary policy meeting. The central bank is largely expected to remain on hold, but surely the Minutes will grab market's attention, as investors will be searching for clues on future steps. In the meantime, the pair broke above the roof of the daily ascendant channel and holding at daily highs, a sign of strong buying interest. The pair, however, advanced over 150 pips daily basis, and some consolidation or a minor downward corrective movement can't be discarded. Technically, more gains could be expected according to the 4 hours chart, as the price is far above a bullish 20 SMA, while the RSI indicator maintains its bullish slope, despite being in overbought territory.

Support levels: 1.4100 1.4060 1.4010

Resistance levels: 1.4190 1.4230 1.4265

View Live Chart for the GBP/USD

Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

EUR/USD retakes 1.1800 on renewed USD weakness

EUR/USD gains ground after three days of losses, re-attempting 1.1800in the European trading hours on Thursday. The US Dollar sees fresh selling interest across the board, despite hawkish Fed Minutes, as the market mood improves and supports the pair. US Jobless Claims data, Fedspeak and geopolitics remain in focus.

GBP/USD recovers above 1.3500 amid better mood

GBP/USD finds fresh demand and rises back above 1.3500 in the European session on Thursday. Improving risk sentiment and renewed US Dollar weakness are helping the pair recover ground ahead of mid-tier US data releases and Fedspeak.

Gold clings to gains above $5,000 amid safe-haven flows and Fed rate cut bets

Gold sticks to modest intraday gains, above the $5,000 psychological mark, through the first half of the European session, though it lacks bullish conviction amid mixed cues. The third round of US-mediated negotiations between Ukraine and Russia concluded in Geneva on Wednesday without any major breakthrough.

Injective token surges over 13% following the approval of the mainnet upgrade proposal

Injective price rallies over 13% on Thursday after the network confirmed the approval of its IIP-619 proposal. The green light for the mainnet upgrade has boosted traders’ sentiment, as the upgrade aims to scale Injective’s real-time Ethereum Virtual Machine architecture and enhance its capabilities to support next-generation payments. The technical outlook suggests further gains if INJ breaks above key resistance.

Hawkish Fed minutes and a market finding its footing

It was green across the board for US Stock market indexes at the close on Wednesday, with most S&P 500 names ending higher, adding 38 points (0.6%) to 6,881 overall. At the GICS sector level, energy led gains, followed by technology and consumer discretionary, while utilities and real estate posted the largest losses.