- 55% of pending orders in the 100-pip range are to SELL the Sterling
- SWFX market sentiment is 60% bullish (-2%)
- No data released today
The pair trading sideways might point to a possible change in sentiment in this session.
The British Pound strengthened against the Greenback, following the UK Interest Rates data release on Thursday. The GBR/USD currency pair gained 54 pips, or 0.41%, to continue fluctuating in the 1.3200 area.
The Bank of England (BOE) released Interest Rates data that came out in a line with a forecast of 0.50% in May, and stayed unchanged from the previous period.
Jeavon Lolay of Lloyds Bank says: "The surprising switch by Bank of England chief economist Haldane to support an immediate rate hike puts August firmly on the table. There will be even more interest in what governor Carney says tonight at the annual Mansion House speech."
Calm day
No important data releases are scheduled for today
GBP/USD tests 200-hour SMA
The Pound remained rather steady against the US Dollar on Thursday morning due to traders awaiting the BOE Monetary Policy Statement released mid-session. Despite the benchmark rate being left on hold, the market was surprised by the hawkish undertone of the statement, thus causing the Sterling to fall 1.12% within a couple of hours.This strong appreciation resulted in a reversal from the senior channel and a breakout from the 55– and 100-hour SMAs and a historic resistance/support level at 1.3232.
Given that technical indicators are located in the overbought territory and the pair has approached an important resistance cluster set by the 55– and 100-period (4H) and the 200-hour SMAs near 1.33, its direction is more likely to be south today. Strong support is likewise ahead at 1.3180.
Hourly chart
The Sterling has plunged 7.28% against the US Dollar since mid-April. Despite edging higher last week, bears managed to regain dominance in the market and push the rate down to 1.3255 this morning.
The pair is expected to strengthen next week, setting the 200-day SMA and the monthly R1 at 1.3650 as a mid-July target.
Daily Chart
The SWFX market sentiment is bullish and stands at 60% long positions (-2%). Meanwhile, 53% of pending orders are to buy the pair (+3%).
The market sentiment of OANDA is strongly bullish, as 67% of its traders are holding long positions (+4%). Saxo Bank clients are likewise bullish with 60% long positions (-2%).
Spreads (avg, pip) / Trading volume / Volatility