- 56% of pending orders in the 100-pip range are to BUY the Sterling
- SWFX market sentiment is 64% bullish (+3%)
- Upcoming fundamental events: MPC Members Haskel and McCafferty and FOMC Member Bostic to speak, US CB Consumer Confidence
The Pound has not left the 1.3315/1.3310 range for three sessions.
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."
US CB Consumer Confidence
The main fundamental event in this session is the US Consumer Confidence released by The Conference Board at 1400GMT.
Meanwhile, the External BOE MPC Members Jonathan Haskel and Ian McCafferty are set to speak at two different events at 0900GMT and 0930GMT, respectively. The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Raphael Bostic will speak at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute at 1700GMT.
GBP/USD continues ranging
GBP/USD has not left the 1.3215/1.3310 range for three consecutive sessions. This has been mainly due to the 55– and 200-hour moving averages which have pressured the Pound from both directions.The former has guided the pair for the last trading session; thus, it might continue doing so today, as well. However, traders should consider the 100-period (4H) SMA which is strengthening the upper range boundary. In case this resistance is breached, the pair should target the 200-period SMA, the weekly R1 and the upper boundary of a two-month descending channel near 1.3350.
Conversely, a failure to move above 1.3310 is likely to result in the Sterling remaining in the above range and continuing to trade sideways, as the 1.3215 level is showing some strong support.
Hourly chart
By reviewing the daily chart of the GBP/USD pair it was discovered that there exists a descending channel pattern that has been in action since the middle of April.
The pair breached this medium-term channel earlier this week, thus pointing to a possible surge towards the 55- and 200-day SMAs located near 1.3650.
Daily Chart
The market sentiment of OANDA is strongly bullish, as 69% of its traders are holding long positions (+1%). Saxo Bank clients are likewise bullish with 62% long positions (+1%).
Spreads (avg, pip) / Trading volume / Volatility