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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 1.5157. The Pound was trading close to one-week lows, as demand for the Greenback remained supported after Friday's upbeat US data and as investors eyed the upcoming UK election. Moreover, the Cable dipped to session lows on Tuesday, due to disappointing data on the UK construction sector. The construction purchasing managers' index fell to 54.2 from 57.8 in March, while economists had expected a more modest slowdown to 57.5. It was the slowest rate of expansion in 22 months. The next day, the Sterling was little changed, since UK service sector jumped to an eight-month high in April. Nevertheless, the Pound rallied against the Dollar and the Euro on Friday, since the Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party won a surprise majority in British elections, easing concerns over the prospects of lengthy coalition negotiations. Earlier on Friday, industry data showed that UK house prices rose 1.6% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.4% gain. Overall, the British currency managed to post confident gains at the end of the week; however, it is still far away from the meaningful breakout. The pair closed at 1.5439 level on Friday.
During May 11-15 time period the Dukascopy Community members assume this currency pair to slump further, since more than 63% of all votes are bearish. As predicted by traders, the GBP/USD may close around the 1.529 level this Friday. Concerning important news from Britain, market participants can pay attention to the latest employment report, and the BoE's quarterly inflation report on Wednesday. The US, in turn, is to publish data on retail sales in the same day. Also, the US is to round up the week with reports on industrial production and manufacturing activity in the New York region.
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