Pound Sterling Price News and Forecast: GBP/USD falls to near 1.3100, again unable to hold above 21DMA

FXStreet Team FXStreet

GBP/USD Weekly Forecast: Little hope for bulls, as focus shifts to Fed minutes

After charting a Doji candlestick in the previous week, sellers returned this week and left GBP/USD in close proximity to two-week lows of 1.3050. The divergent monetary policy outlooks between the US Fed and Bank of England (BOE) weighed heavily on the pair alongside a pause in the bond rout. Meanwhile, markets remained in a cautious mood amid a lack of progress in the Russia-Ukraine crisis and global growth concerns. Looking ahead, a quiet week on the economic data front will put the focus back on the Ukraine saga and the central banks’ expectations. Read more...

GBP/USD falls to near 1.3100, again unable to hold above 21DMA as strong US data supports Fed tightening bets

GBP/USD fell during US trade on Friday, as the US dollar strengthened versus the majority of its G10 counterparts following a strong official March labour market report and robust but also highly inflationary March ISM Manufacturing PMI survey release. To recap briefly, the US economy added 432K jobs, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% and wages grew at a pace of 5.6% YoY in March, while the headline ISM Manufacturing PMI index remained well in expansion territory, but the Price Paid subindex spiked to its highest levels since last July. The US dollar benefitted from a surge in US yields, particularly at the short-end of the curve. The bond market moves reflected a market interpreting Friday’s data strengthening the likelihood that the Fed opts to lift interest rates in 50 bps intervals in the coming quarters, and as more Fed policymakers indicated their openness to these larger rate moves. Read more...

GBP/USD

Overview
Today last price	1.3113
Today Daily Change	-0.0023
Today Daily Change %	-0.18
Today daily open	1.3136

Trends
Daily SMA20	1.3137
Daily SMA50	1.3356
Daily SMA100	1.3386
Daily SMA200	1.3564

Levels
Previous Daily High	1.3176
Previous Daily Low	1.3106
Previous Weekly High	1.3299
Previous Weekly Low	1.312
Previous Monthly High	1.3438
Previous Monthly Low	1.3
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1.3149
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1.3132
Daily Pivot Point S1	1.3103
Daily Pivot Point S2	1.3069
Daily Pivot Point S3	1.3033
Daily Pivot Point R1	1.3172
Daily Pivot Point R2	1.3209
Daily Pivot Point R3	1.3242

GBP/USD Forecast: Further losses likely with a drop below 1.3100

GBP/USD has struggled to make a decisive move in either direction on Thursday and has started to edge lower in the early European session on Friday. The pair is closing in on 1.3100 support and the bearish pressure could increase in case that level fails. Escalating geopolitical tensions on Russia's decision to force buyers to pay for Russian gas in roubles forced investors to seek refuge late Thursday. Moreover, Russian forces are reportedly relocating and reorganising rather than pulling back, reviving concerns over a prolonged military conflict. Read more...

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FXStreet Team

FXStreet

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

AUD/USD holds above 0.6950 as bullish USD caps gains

AUD/USD edges lower during the Asian session on Tuesday, stalling a two-day recovery move from a two-month low, touched last week. An extended rout in the fixed income market keeps US bond yields elevated near multi-year highs. This, along with geopolitical uncertainties, helps the US Dollar retain its bullish tone despite receding October Fed hike bets. However, expectations for another RBA rate hike this month could act as a tailwind for the Aussie.

USD/JPY rises back above 158.00 despite hawkish BoJ outlook

USD/JPY rises back above 158.00 in the early European morning on Tuesday. The pair strengthens as the Japanese Yen fails to find any inspiration from hawkish BoJ expectations and looming intervention risks. Meanwhile, geopolitical uncertainty and elevated US bond yields keep the US Dollar near its YTD high despite receding October Fed hike bets. This, in turn, helps the pair stay supported.

Gold recovers further from two-month low amid some USD profit-taking

Gold builds on its modest intraday bounce from the $4,100 neighborhood, or a two-month low, and climbs above $4,150 during the first half of the European session. The US Dollar pauses for a breather following the recent strong rally from the September monthly swing low and offers some support to the precious metal. Adding to this, receding bets on an October Fed rate hike benefit the non-yielding bullion.

Ripple and Stellar weaken as derivatives positioning fades

Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) face pressure trading below $1.499 and $0.220, respectively, on Tuesday after a modest correction at the start of the week. Traders should be cautious as weakening derivatives metrics and fading bullish momentum suggest further corrections for XRP and XLM. Derivatives data shows a weakening and cautious signal among traders.

Europe in focus as French and Spanish politics drive sentiment

There are no tier-1 releases today. Focus will remain on developments in the European markets and geopolitical developments in the Middle East. In France, the key issue in the coming days will be whether the Socialists and Marine Le Pen's National Rally signal they are willing to topple the government over the budget.

Eurozone inflation just hit 3.8%, its highest in three years. This chart shows why the ECB can’t simply hike its way out

The ECB would normally have a relatively straightforward answer to inflation running almost twice its target: raise interest rates. But these are not normal circumstances. This time, the bond market is already doing part of the tightening for it, leaving the ECB facing an increasingly difficult dilemma.