GBP/USD: eyes on Brexit negociations; pound has been robust on 1.25 handle

Ross J Burland FXStreet

GBP/USD is currently trading at 1.2540 at time of writing with an early starting high at 1.2564 and a low of 1.2526.

GBP/USD is robust despite the recent downgrade to 2016 Q4 UK GDP. This was dropped by a marginal 0.1% from the previous 2.0% on the back of total business investment falling by 0.9% in the last three months of 2016.

Weekend politics: Brexit getting personal, Trump about to wage war on N.Korea?

Meanwhile, the focus has been more with Brexit; The pound closed at 1.2528 for the month of March. Opening today at 1.2542, there will be plenty going on with sterling from here on given the recent triggering of Article 50 and the subsequent potential for two-year's worth of negotiations with the EU. At the same time, we had headline last week that the Scottish Parliament has backed FM minister Sturgeon to trigger a second independence referendum.

GBP/USD levels

Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXStreet explained that technically, the daily chart for the pair shows that the upside is favored: "The price settled above the 23.6% retracement of its January's rally and well above a bullish 20 SMA, whilst the RSI indicator resumed its advance within positive territory, now heading north around 60. In the 4 hours chart, technical indicators maintain upward slopes well into positive territory, whilst the 20 SMA has turned flat well below the current level, in line with the longer-term perspective."

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

EUR/USD stays below 1.1850 after dismal German sentiment data

EUR/USD stays in negative territory below 1.1850 in the second half of the day on Tuesday. Renewed US Dollar strength, combined with a softer risk tone keep the pair undermined alongside downbeat German ZEW sentiment readings for February.

GBP/USD falls toward 1.3550, pressured by weak UK jobs report

GBP/USD remains under bearish pressure and extends its decline below 1.3600 on Tuesday. The United Kingdom employment data suggested worsening labor market conditions, bolstering bets for a BoE interest rate cut next month and making it difficult for Pound Sterling to stay resilient against its peers.

Gold recovers modestly, stays deep in red below $4,950

Gold (XAU/USD) stages a rebound but remains deep in negative territory below $4,950 after touching its weakest level in over a week near $4,850 earlier in the day. Renewed US Dollar strength makes it difficult for XAU/USD to gather recovery momentum despite the risk-averse market atmosphere.

Canada CPI expected to show sticky inflation in January, still above BoC’s target

Economists see the headline CPI rising by 2.4% in a year to January, still above the BoC’s target and matching December’s increase. On a monthly basis, prices are expected to rise by 0.1%.

UK jobs market weakens, bolstering rate cut hopes

In the UK, the latest jobs report made for difficult reading. Nonetheless, this represents yet another reminder for the Bank of England that they need to act swiftly given the collapse in inflation expected over the coming months.

Stellar mixed sentiment caps recovery

Stellar price remains under pressure, trading at $0.170 on Tuesday after failing to close above the key resistance on Sunday. The derivatives metric supports the bearish sentiment, with XLM’s short bets rising among traders and funding rates turning negative.