- 58% of pending orders in the 100-pip range are to SELL
- 54% of open positions are bullish (-1%)
- Notable support located circa 1.3380
- Upcoming events: US Unemployment Claims, Chicago PMI
Factory activity in Chicago strengthened again by the end of the year, according to the MNI survey.
Market News International stated that its PMI of manufacturing sector in Chicago jumped to 67.6 in December, after 63.9 reading in the previous month. The survey also showed that businesses were shoring the stock level to support lead times and prepare for next year's product launches. However, the employment rate decreased, but remained higher than in post-crisis times.
Quiet session
No fundamentals that could have an effect on the GBP/USD pair are scheduled for this session.
GBP/USD trades in narrow channel
Thursday's trading session was rather uneventful for British Sterling, as it remained fluctuating between the weekly R1 and the 1.3460 mark for the whole session. This lack of direction changed early today when bulls gathered enough strength for another surge.
The pair's upward movement during the past few days has resulted in the formation of a narrow ascending triangle. In case the Pound pushes even higher today as suggested by technical indicators, it could find resistance near 1.35 where the intersection of the 50.0% Fibo retracement and the upper chanel boundary is located.
On the other hand, the current steep upward movement might allay in the following hours. A failure to reach the upper channel line is likely to be followed by a breakout and a test of the 55-hour SMA circa 1.3420.
Hourly chart
Upside risks continue to dominate the pair for the third consecutive session. The strong surge apparent early on Friday resulted in a breakout of various resistance levels. This bullish sentiment is likely to allay in the following hours,; however, the pair could still end this year with strong gains.
Daily chart
The bullish market sentiment has remained at the same level on Friday, as 54% of open positions are still long. In addition, 55% of pending orders are to buy the Sterling (+2%).
The market sentiment of OANDA traders is at equilibrium today, as there is an equal number of short and long positions. Meanwhile, Saxo Bank clients are still bearish with 60% short positions (+4%).
Spreads (avg, pip) / Trading volume / Volatility