GBP/USD slumps to fresh multi-decade lows below 1.1050

GBP/USD is down over 300 pips on the day.
The risk-averse market environment provides a boost to the greenback.
Disappointing data releases from the UK weigh heavily on GBP.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Following a consolidation phase during the Asian trading hours, GBP/USD came under heavy bearish pressure and lost more than 200 pips on the day. As of writing, the pair was trading at its lowest level since 1985 at 1.1045, down nearly 2% on a daily basis.

Earlier in the day, the data from the UK revealed that the business activity in the private sector continued to contract in early September with the preliminary Composite PMI dropping to 48.4 from 49.6 in August. This reading came in below the market expectation of 49.

Furthermore, the Confederation of British Industry's latest Distributive Trades Survey revealed that the Retail Sales Balance plunged to -20 in September from +37 in August and fueled the GBP selloff.

In addition to dismal UK data, the intense flight to safety provides a boost to the dollar and further weighs on the pair. US stock index futures were last seen losing between 1.3% and 1.6% on the day, suggesting that safe-haven flows are likely to continue to dominate the financial markets.

The US economic docket will feature S&P Global's Manufacturing and Services PMI reports later in the day.

Technical levels to watch for

GBP/USD

Overview
Today last price	1.1045
Today Daily Change	-0.0214
Today Daily Change %	-1.90
Today daily open	1.1259

Trends
Daily SMA20	1.1519
Daily SMA50	1.1828
Daily SMA100	1.206
Daily SMA200	1.2666

Levels
Previous Daily High	1.1364
Previous Daily Low	1.1212
Previous Weekly High	1.1738
Previous Weekly Low	1.1351
Previous Monthly High	1.2294
Previous Monthly Low	1.1599
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1.127
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1.1306
Daily Pivot Point S1	1.1193
Daily Pivot Point S2	1.1126
Daily Pivot Point S3	1.104
Daily Pivot Point R1	1.1345
Daily Pivot Point R2	1.1431
Daily Pivot Point R3	1.1497

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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