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The second most popular currency pair opened the week on a pure positive note, however, did not manage to defend positions and started to decline gradually on Tuesday, reaching 1.428 level at the end of the period. At the same time, Dukascopy Community members expected the GBP/USD currency pair to decrease in value, as 60% of votes were bearish. On Tuesday, the British package of economic data attracted traders' attention and pushed the Pound down as both manufacturing and industrial production decelerated. Moreover, the Sterling suffered more gradual losses on Friday and headed towards a seven-year low, despite the fact that there was no any UK economic data announcements. The pair was mainly affected by US retail sales data, since US shoppers did not do much holiday shopping last month, which raised the question whether consumption will be able to bounce back in the spring. Nevertheless, the most recent depreciation of the Cable may be seen as positive by UK exporters and manufacturers, who struggle with strong Sterling exchange rates and weaker global demand.
This week is presumed to be rich on important fundamental news, which may potentially influence movements of the pair even more. On Tuesday, the UK is to release the producer price index, consumer price index as well as traders could pay additional attention to the BoE Governor speech. On Friday, in turn, UK retail sales data will be published with the US market manufacturing PMI.
Participants of the Dukascopy Community Forecasts quiz support the general negative view on the pair, with 62% of all votes being short at the moment. According to al_dcdemo opinion, "Falling oil prices, low inflation and looming EU referendum will continue to weigh on the pair." however, morometze sees "The British Pound will strengthen this week, continuing the trend started in the mid of December 2015."
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