GBP/USD Forecast: Pressuring weekly lows and at risk of falling

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

GBP/USD Current price: 1.3737

The UK Markit Construction PMI jumped to 61.7 in March.
Concerns related to the AstraZeneca covid vaccine weigh on the pound.
GBP/USD remains under selling pressure and is poised to extend its slump.

The British Pound remained among the worst performers against the greenback, as the GBP/USD pair extended its weekly decline to 1.3718, ending the day around 1.3740. UK macroeconomic data was quite encouraging, as the March Markit Construction PMI hit 61.7, improving from 53.3 and largely surpassing the expected 54.6. Concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine keep weighing on sterling, as the EMA found a “rare link” between the jab and blood clots. Nevertheless, the UK has given at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine to roughly 50% of the population, which brought sharply down the number of daily deaths and contagions.

The UK will publish on Friday Halifax House Prices for the three months to March, while the BOE will publish its Quarterly Bulletin for the first quarter of the year.

GBP/USD short-term technical outlook

The GBP/USD pair is still at risk of falling according to intraday technical readings. The 4-hour chart shows that it keeps developing below all of its moving averages, with the 20 SMA accelerating south and about to cross below the 100 SMA, both around the 1.3815 level. The Momentum indicator bounced from daily lows but lost strength upward within negative levels, while the RSI indicator is stable around 38, indicating a lack of buying interest. A steeper decline is on the table on a break below 1.3720, the immediate support level.

Support levels: 1.3720 1.3680 1.3640

Resistance levels: 1.3770 1.3810 1.3865

View Live Chart for the GBP/USD

Premium

You have reached your limit of 3 free articles for this month.

Start your subscription and get access to all our original articles.

Subscribe to Premium Sign In

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 flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.