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The GBP/USD currency cross was moving mostly to the north during the previous trading week, opening Monday on a rather negative note at 1.5563. The Greenback boasted some upbeat data during the 8-12 December time period, including the consumer sentiment index, which grew to 93.8 points and strong retail sales that gained 0.7% in November. Sales were driven by stable jobs' growth and low petroleum prices. However, this was not enough to prevent the Pound from moving higher. British numbers were mixed, as manufacturing production declined 1.7% in October, while NIESR GDP estimate showed the UK economy is likely to jump 0.7% in Q4. The Pound held steady against the US dollar on Tuesday and jumped a day later, supported by optimistic UK trade data, which revealed that deficit narrowed in October. Overall, the British currency managed to post confident gains over five trading days; however, it is still far away from the meaningful breakout. The pair closed at 1.5717 on Friday, following comments from Bank of England's Governor Mark Carney and MPC members, as they indicated that BoE should begin raising borrowing costs sooner in order to ensure that future increases in interest rates will be predictable and gradual.
During December 15-19 time period the Dukascopy Community members assume this currency pair to slump further, as more than 57% of all votes are bearish. As predicted by traders, the GBP/USD may close around the 1.551 level this Friday. Concerning important news from Britain, market participants can pay attention to the speech of Mark Carney on Tuesday, where the results of UK banks' stress-tests will be discussed, as well as BoE meeting minutes on Wednesday. Moreover, the data on UK inflation has already been published and showed the CPI decreasing to 1% in November. Additionally, the Federal Reserve will decide on the federal funds rate and give further insight concerning the future of monetary policy in the US.
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