|

GBP/USD cautiously pushing into 1.3150 despite fresh Brexit concerns

  • Dollar-selling in the wider market is seeing the GBP/USD pair on the rise, but Brexit concerns continue to eat away at confidence in the Pound.
  • A thinly-populated economic calendar for Monday will see Brexit woes in control of the major pair's overall directional bias as the new week opens up.

The GBP/USD pairing is drifting towards the high side, testing into 1.3150 after taking out Friday's highs in early Asia-session trading, despite a bearish knockback to kick the week off as the latest Brexit proposal from the UK sees little traction with EU leaders.

European Union leaders in Brussels have flat-out rejected UK Prime Minister Theresa May's latest "third option" Brexit proposal; under PM May's hopeful middle-ground proposal, the city of London would have enjoyed permanent access to European financial markets, which would rob the EU of decision-making autonomy, as market access to EU-wide markets is a privilege that the broader EU holds the right to rescind at any time. With the latest hotly-debated Brexit proposal now dead in the water with European leaders, Brexiteers are back to the drawing board as PM May struggles to find an acceptable common ground between hard-line Euroskeptics in the UK's parliament, and the keyholders of the European Union, who have little need to make concessions to the UK's demands.

Monday is a thinly-populated schedule for economic data, with little of note for both the Sterling and the Greenback, though a speech from the Bank of England's MPC Member Haldane is expected later in the day at 17:00 GMT, while m/m June Existing Home Sales figures for the US are expected at 14:00 GMT, and expected to improve slightly to 5.47 million, slightly higher than the previous reading of 5.43 million.

GBP/USD Levels to watch

A steeply-bearish British Pound continues to be hampered by Brexit concerns, abd broad-market USD-selling is seeing the pair rise, as opposed to intrinsic strength from GBP bids, which remains non-existent. According to FXStreet's Chief Analyst, Valeria Bednarik: "the daily chart indicates that bears are still in control of the pair, as the latest recovery stalled below its 20 DMA, while technical indicators have managed to recover some ground, but remain in negative territory. In the 4 hours chart, the pair settled above a sharply bearish 20 SMA, still some 150 pips below the 200 EMA, while technical indicators stand well above their midlines, but lost their upward strength. The pair could continue advancing on a break above 1.3155, the immediate resistance, although the first line of sellers should appear around the 1.3200 figure. Renewed selling pressure below the 1.3100 level, on the other hand, will likely favor additional declines for this Monday, toward the key 1.3000 psychological threshold."

Support levels: 1.3100 1.3065 1.3030

Resistance levels: 1.3155  1.3195 1.3240

Author

Joshua Gibson

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

More from Joshua Gibson
Share:

Editor's Picks

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200; US NFP awaited

AUD/USD holds steady above 0.7200, near its highest level since mid-May, as bulls await the US NFP report for more cues on the Fed's policy path before placing fresh bets. Meanwhile, the recent decline in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar depressed near its lowest level in over a week and acts as a tailwind for the Aussie amid the RBA's hawkish tilt.

USD/JPY eyes August swing low, near 155.20 ahead of US NFP

USD/JPY retests the August monthly swing low during the Asian session on Friday as a more hawkish repricing of BoJ rate-hike bets and a suspected intervention continue to underpin the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar is seen consolidating the previous day's heavy losses amid soft US bond yields, further weighing on the currency pair as traders keenly await the US NFP report.

Gold tumbles as blockbuster US NFP lift US Dollar, Treasury yields

Gold (XAU/USD) falls sharply on Friday, snapping a two-day recovery after the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report surprised strongly to the upside. The metal briefly climbed above $4,500 on Thursday, gaining nearly 2%, but has since erased a large part of that advance.

The week ahead: Dollar at a crossroads as CPI and ECB take centre stage
With the summer finally over, investors returned with a strong appetite for action. Following last week’s strong performance, the US dollar has taken a back seat so far this week, as oil, the yen and sovereign bond yields monopolized market interest.
CFTC report: Oil rebound offsets broader positioning retreat
The week in one sentence: Speculative positioning became more defensive in the week ending September 1. Yen short positioning recorded the largest deterioration, while Gold length also retreated. Oil buying returned alongside stronger prices, and Canadian Dollar and Euro positioning improved, although Euro flows diverged from weaker spot 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.