© Dukascopy Bank SA
The Pound was almost unchanged against the US Dollar on Monday, since a sharp drop in sales of existing homes by 6.1% in November had a medium-term impact on the Cable. Nevertheless, the pair started to decrease on Tuesday, after a batch of mixed economic reports from the UK and other parts of the world. Moreover, the Federal Reserve signaled last week that it was on track to raise interest rates next year but said it was taking a patient stance. On Tuesday, GBP/USD hit the 1.5552 level, the pair's lowest mark since September 2013 as UK current account deficit widened to 27 billion pounds in the third quarter from 24.3 billion pounds a quarter before. Analysts predicted the current account shortfall to narrow to 21.9 billion pounds in the last quarter. A separate report showed that UK gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, this week sentiment among Dukascopy traders has significantly strengthened, as now 75% of traders predict the Pound to lose value, while last week this scenario was suggested by 52% of Community members. Alongside, the average forecast for the end of the week is placed around the 1.553 level. Meanwhile, UK Nationwide HPI has already been announced, as it decreased 0.2%, lower than initially estimated by economists. Also, traders can pay attention to the Britain's manufacturing PMI, as well as net lending to individuals, as they both are scheduled to be released on Friday, January 2. Among important American news, markets will be waiting for the CB consumer confidence index on Tuesday. Initial jobless claims and pending home sales for November are going to be released on Thursday. Moreover, a day later there will be important data on UK manufacturing PMI and US ISM manufacturing PMI.
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