GBP/USD sits at session tops, bulls await a sustained move beyond 1.2500 handle

The GBP/USD pair spiked to fresh session tops in the last hour, with bulls still awaiting a sustained move beyond the key 1.2500 psychological mark.

The pair quickly reversed an early European session dip to an intraday low level of 1.2465 and turned higher for the second straight session, albeit the uptick lacked any obvious fundamental catalyst and was solely led by some short-covering move. 

Meanwhile, the new British PM Boris Johnson's first statement in the House of Commons, reiterating his commitment to leave the EU on October 31 preferably with a deal, did little to impress the bulls or provide any meaningful impetus.

Johnson further added that backstop must be abolished in order to reach a deal and we will have to leave without a deal if the EU is not ready to make changes to the withdrawal agreement, which seemed to be the only factor capping strong gains.

On the other hand, the US Dollar stood tall near multi-week tops amid tempered expectations of a 50 bps rate cut by the Fed at its upcoming meeting on July 30-31 and further collaborated towards keeping a lid on any runaway rally, at least for the time being. 

It would now be interesting to see if the pair is able to capitalize on the intraday positive momentum or once again meets with some fresh supply at higher levels as market participants now look forward to the release of US durable goods orders data for a fresh impetus.

Technical levels to watch