World Cup 2018 – England and the GBP

EURGBP

The FIFA 2018 World Cup is under way and an exciting weekend of football continued yesterday as two of Europe’s better teams joined the fray. Belgium and England (ranked 3rd and 12th in the world respectively) both won their opening matches and will play each other in the final Group G game on June 28.  The England football team have a love-hate relationship with the World Cup and if 2018 is going to exercise the ghost of 1966 (the one and only time England won the competition) then there will need much more guile and ruthlessness in front of goal than they displayed last night. Belgium have never won the World Cup, their best finish was fourth place place in 1986 and the quarter finals in 2014. They are again dark horse favourites for many with a plethora of world class players but are often criticized for a weak team ethic.  Yesterday, Belgium defeated Panama 3-0 and England beat Tunisia 2-1.

Belgium is home to the European Union and the EUR,  England is part of the UK and the GBP.  (Great Britain (GB) is the island that incorporates England, Scotland and Wales, the United Kingdom also includes Northern Island). Fiercely European, Belgium’s mixed, prosperous economy seems diametrical opposed to the the UK who voted to leave the European Union after forty four years. The impacts on both sides are yet to be determined but the currency pair has rose (from 2016 lows around 0.7000)  and waned with the rise fall of economic fortunes on either side of the English Channel, especially since the UK Referendum two years ago.

The higher trend uptrend remains intact with key support at 0.8720 (20 period moving average), 0.8525 (38.2 Fibonacci level) and 0.8220 (50.0 Fibonacci level and lower Bollinger band). Resistance sits at 0.8950 (2018 high) and 0.9220 (2017 high).