- 52% of pending orders in the 100-pip range are to BUY the Pound
- SWFX market sentiment is 51% bullish (-1%)
- No fundamental releases today
The Sterling is likely to hinder near the psychological 1.40 level today.
The British Pound weakened against the Greenback, following the UK Retail Sales data release on Thursday. The GBP/USD currency pair lost 12 pips, or 0.09%, to continue fluctuating in the 1.4171 area.
The Office for National Statistics revealed lower-than-expected retail sales data for the month of March. Britain's sales volume declined by 1.2%, compared to 0.8% increase in the prior period.
One of the main reasons for such low consumer spending was due to the snow storms over the UK or as they call it: "Beast from the East", that discouraged people to go for a shopping, thus preventing the sales volume to increase to the forecast level.
Calm session
This session is likely to show low volatility, as no fundamentals are scheduled for today.
GBP/USD: strong resistance ahead
Following a four-day decline against the US Dollar, the Sterling managed to recover some of its lost positions on Tuesday. As a result, it breached the 55-hour SMA, but was nevertheless limited by the monthly PP at the psychological 1.40 mark.An upside breakout of the 55-hour moving average sends bullish signals, thus suggesting that this recovery is likely to continue during the remaining part of the week, as well. This session, however, should not produce large gains due to a strong resistance cluster located at 1.4050. Apart from the 100-hour SMA and a breached senior channel, the 55-day SMA is likewise located in this area.
This might either set the Pound for a movement sideways or another fall down to the weekly or monthly S1s at 1.3875 and 1.3740, respectively.
Hourly chart
The Sterling has been driven by strong downside potential during the previous five trading sessions. As a result, it breached the combined support of the 55-day SMA, the monthly PP and a trend-line circa 1.4020 earlier this week.
The rate is currently approaching the weekly S2, the 100-day SMA and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement near 1.3850. This level is likely to be breached, thus setting the senior channel and the monthly S1 at 1.3740 as the next two-week target.
Daily Chart
The SWFX market sentiment remains bullish today, as 51% of open positions are long (-1%). Meanwhile, 51% of pending orders are to sell the Pound (-5%).
OANDA traders are bullish on the Pound in this session with 52% of their open positions being long. Saxo Bank clients remain bearish with 51% short positions.
Spreads (avg, pip) / Trading volume / Volatility