|

GBP/USD Forecast: Upside looks capped by 1.4000 so far

  • GBP/USD flirts with the 1.3900 neighbourhood on Friday.
  • The pound remains under pressure following the BoE event.
  • UK’s GfK Consumer Confidence came in at -9 in June.

The sterling extends the recent bearish shift, as investors continue to assess the BoE monetary policy meeting. In fact, GBP/USD recedes from weekly peaks around the psychological 1.4000 zone after the “Old Lady” caught markets off guard and delivered a dovish message at its event on Thursday.

In fact, Cable sheds around a cent after the central bank sounded unexpectedly cautious regarding the timing of the start of a tightening cycle.

In addition, investors remain vigilant on the progress of the pandemic in the UK – particularly the developments around the Delta variant – and its direct impact on when the government will announce the long-waited return to the life as we knew it.

On the not-so-auspicious front for the quid still emerges the omnipresent Brexit issue along with speculations of a EU-UK trade war, which regurgitated in past sessions.

Beyond 1.4000 there are minor hurdles at the 50-day and 20-day SMAs, at 1.4032 and 1.4052, respectively. Further north, there are no relevant resistance levels until the so far 2021 highs in the mid-1.4200s (June 1). If sellers regain control of the sentiment, recent lows in the 1.3800 area are forecast to hold the initial test. Very near-term price action in Cable is expected to track key data releases in the US calendar, all due later in the NA session.

Author

Pablo Piovano

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

More from Pablo Piovano
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD revisits 1.3530; Dollar pushes harder

GBP/USD adds to the weekly correction and recedes toward the 1.3530 zone on Friday. Indeed, Cable faces increasing selling pressure on the back of extra gains in the Greenback, particularly fuelled by Chair Warsh’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium and the US NFP Annual Revision (-79K).

EUR/USD breaches below 1.1600, multi-day lows

EUR/USD now accelerates its decline and retreats to seven-day troughs in the sub-1.1600 region at the end of the week. The pair’s pullback comes on the back of the strong rebound in the US Dollar after Chair Warsh delivered a hawkish message in Jackson Hole, while the US NFP Annual Revision came in at -79K.

Gold challenges its 200-day SMA near $4,530

Gold’s decline gathers fresh steam, hitting weekly lows while disputing its critical 200-day SMA near $4,530 per troy ounce. The yellow metal’s increasing weakness comes in response to the generalised upbeat tone in the US Dollar and the widespread rebound in US Treasury yields, as investors continue to reprice a Fed rate hike in September.

Week ahead: RBNZ and BoC decide on rates ahead of all-important US NFP
The US dollar staged a modest recovery this week, perhaps as traders decided to cover some of their short positions amid slightly stickier or in-line US PCE inflation numbers for July, confounding expectations of softer prints amid the softness revealed in the CPI data for the month.
CFTC Report: CAD short covering leads; Gold buying surges
The week in one sentence: speculative positioning shifted more constructively in the week to August 25. CAD short covering led the move, followed by a broad reduction in EUR shorts and renewed Gold buying. GBP and VIX positioning also improved, while JPY positioning deteriorated and WTI flows diverged from weaker prices.
Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.