GBP/USD jumps to 1.2700 neighborhood on stellar UK retail sales data, BoE next

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• The USD struggles to build on the post-FOMC rebound and helps regain traction.
• UK retail sales growth, at 1.4%m/m surpassed even the most optimistic estimates.

The GBP/USD pair built on its goodish intraday rally and spiked back closer to the 1.2700 handle on upbeat UK macro data.

Despite not so dovish FOMC outlook as was anticipated by the market, the US Dollar struggled to build on the overnight rebound and assisted the pair to regain positive traction on Thursday.

The pair kept scaling higher through the early European session and got an additional boost from upbeat UK monthly retail sales data, recording a strong 1.4% m/m growth in November.

The post-data spike, however, turned out to be short-lived as investors now look forward to the latest BoE policy decision for some fresh impetus. The UK central bank is expected to maintain status-quo amid the political deadlock over the UK efforts to exit the European Union and might turn out to be a non-event for the market.

Technical levels to watch

GBP/USD

Overview:
    Today Last Price: 1.268
    Today Daily change: 64 pips
    Today Daily change %: 0.507%
    Today Daily Open: 1.2616
Trends:
    Previous Daily SMA20: 1.2706
    Previous Daily SMA50: 1.2858
    Previous Daily SMA100: 1.2916
    Previous Daily SMA200: 1.3238
Levels:
    Previous Daily High: 1.268
    Previous Daily Low: 1.2607
    Previous Weekly High: 1.276
    Previous Weekly Low: 1.2477
    Previous Monthly High: 1.3176
    Previous Monthly Low: 1.2723
    Previous Daily Fibonacci 38.2%: 1.2635
    Previous Daily Fibonacci 61.8%: 1.2652
    Previous Daily Pivot Point S1: 1.2588
    Previous Daily Pivot Point S2: 1.2561
    Previous Daily Pivot Point S3: 1.2516
    Previous Daily Pivot Point R1: 1.2661
    Previous Daily Pivot Point R2: 1.2707
    Previous Daily Pivot Point R3: 1.2734

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

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