|

GBP/USD Forecast: Bulls add Mid-Terms on top of Brexit hopes, 1.3250 eyed

  • The Pound is looking perky as Democrats are all but sure in the House.
  • Hopes for a Brexit deal remain the primary driver.
  • The technical picture looks quite upbeat for cable.

The GBP/USD is challenging the highs in the mid 1.3100s. The US Dollar is on the back foot as most networks have declared Democrats as the winners in the battle for the House of Representatives.

While the opposition party was a favorite from the outset, it was a dramatic night that saw Republicans have a fair chance of holding onto the lower chamber. Republicans did retain the Senate, as expected in opinion polls. 

The US Dollar fell, recovered and dropped once again and the GBP/USD moved alongside the predictions from pundits.

Live Coverage: Follow all the updates for the elections and currency movements 

Nevertheless, hopes for a Brexit deal as early as this week remain the critical driver of the British Pound and for the GBP/USD. A cabinet meeting on Tuesday ended without any dramatic announcement. Chief EU Negotiator Michel Barnier said, "we are not there yet."

However, the press speculates that the ministers may be called on later this week. The question of the Irish backstop tops the agenda as around 95% of the details have been agreed upon according to officials. 

GBP/USD Technical Analysis

GBP USD Technical Analysis November 7 2018 Democrats Brexit

The GBP/USD is trading at the highest levels since mid-October, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart is far from the 70 level which indicates oversold conditions. This is one bullish sign. Also, the pair is trading and looks comfortable above the 50-day Simple Moving Average. Downside momentum is diminishing. 

The 1.3250 area capped the pair during several days in the middle of last month. 1.3300 is a round number and also was the peak in September. Beyond these levels, we are back to prices last seen in July, with 1.3360 serving as the next cap.

Looking down, 1.3290 was a swing low in mid-October. 1.3040 separated ranges in October and also in early November. Further down, 1.2960 was a stepping stone on the way up, and 1.2925 was a swing low in early October. 

Author

Yohay Elam

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

More from Yohay Elam
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD: Breakdown below trading range support near 1.1770 comes into play

The EUR/USD pair opens with a bearish gap at the start of a new week as the US-Iran war-led global flight to safety boosts the US Dollar. Spot prices, however, lack follow-through selling and manage to hold above mid-1.1700s during the Asian session.

GBP/USD targets 1.3500 barrier near moving averages

GBP/USD rebounds from the daily losses, trading around 1.3450 during the Asian hours on Monday. The technical analysis of the daily chart indicates an ongoing bearish bias, as the pair trades within a descending channel pattern.

Gold jumps over 2% toward $5,400 after US, Israel attack Iran

Gold is on fire at the start of the week, a widely expected move, as investors seek harbor in the traditional store of value, following the continued US and Israel attacks on Iran. The bright metal opened with a bullish gap of about $17 and rallied toward the $5,400 level as Asian traders hit their desks and reacted negatively to the weekend news of the Middle East conflict, rushing for cover in Gold.

Iran escalation: Quick thoughts on markets

Markets are likely to open the week with risk-off, with declines led by airlines, cyclicals and trade-exposed names, while energy, defense and “strategic” sectors may be relatively steadier.

Crisis in the Middle East: The market reaction

A primer on how markets will open on Monday, and why geopolitical risk may not be easily absorbed by financial markets this time around. Geopolitics and events between Iran, the US and the wider Middle East will dominate financial markets on Monday. The situation has continued to escalate as we move through Sunday. 

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.