© Dukascopy Bank SA
The GBP/USD currency cross was moving mostly to the north during the previous trading week, opening Monday on a rather negative note at 1.396. The pound appreciated against the dollar, after data showed that the US manufacturing sector recession took an ugly turn in February. America's GDP expanded at an annualized rate of 1% in the three months ending December, a much sturdier reading than the 0.4% growth rate the markets had expected, the revised figures showed, leading some to speculate that the Fed might continue rising rates faster than previously thought. In the middle of the week, disappointing data added to pressure on the dollar as US non-manufacturing fell to the worst reading in almost 2 years. In the UK, in turn, the services PMI came in at 52.7 points in February, being significantly lower than the forecast of 55.1 and the 55.6 seen in the previous month. Right after the release, the pound was 0.29% down at 1.4035, posting its daily low. Eventually, at the end of the week, the trend was very clear and obvious - bullish. As the Brexit panic eased a bit, investors started to cover their shorts on sterling and the pound therefore surged, adding nearly three big figures and closing at 1.4228 level.
During February 29 – March 4 time period the Dukascopy Community members assume this currency pair to increase further, since more than 64% of all votes are bullish. As predicted by traders, the GBP/USD may close around the 1.42 level this Friday. Concerning important news from Britain, on Tuesday, the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is to testify on Britain's European Union membership before the Parliamentary Committee in London. While the next day, the UK is going to report on industrial and manufacturing production. Eventually on Friday, the UK is going to release data on the trade balance.
© Dukascopy Bank SA