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GBP/USD drops below 1.3200 handle, focus shifts to Yellen’s speech

The GBP/USD pair's reversal from session seems to have gained further traction and the pair has now dropped back below 1.3200 handle to hit a fresh session low around 1.3185 region. 

The pair erased its bullish spike to 1.3234 as bulls seemed unimpressed with the second estimate of UK Q2 GDP print, which was in-line with market expectations and matched previous reading to show 0.6% q-o-q growth. 

Market participants remained on the sidelines and await for clarity on further Fed rate-hike action from the much-anticipated speech by the Fed Chair Janet Yellen at Jackson Hole symposium later during the day. On the economic data front, the preliminary release (first revision) of US GDP growth for second quarter of 2016 will be the key highlight during early NA session. 

Today's economic releases / events should provide fresh impetus to break recent consolidation range and guide investors to determine the near-term direction for the major.

Technical levels to watch

On the downside, 1.3150 level seems to act as immediate support, below which the downslide could get extended even below 1.3100 handle towards testing a previous strong resistance turned important support near 1.3050-40 area. Meanwhile on the upside, 1.3250-60 region remains immediate resistance, which if conquered should boost the pair immediately beyond 1.3300 handle towards monthly high resistance near 1.3370 area.

Author

Haresh Menghani

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

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