GBPUSD is trading flat attempting to hold above the 1.2400 level
As the pair grapples with the top end of recent consolidation, the GBPUSD is treading water just above the 1.2400 handle. The Pound Sterling (GBP) is battling to hang onto this week’s gains versus the US Dollar (USD).
Moreover The GBP reached a high of 2.25% against the USD in the middle of the week, but has since dropped to a more manageable 1.65%.
Despite a broad-market risk bid spurred once again by the markets As investors speculate that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is done raising interest rates, the GBPUSD is stuck in the middle as UK data misses the target.
In October, UK retail sales fell 0.3% month on month.
UK Retail Sales fell month on month in October, with the result printing at -0.3%, reversing the market’s projected 0.3% increase. Investors’ attention was drawn to losses at the tail end, with September’s result revised down from -0.9% to an eye-watering -1.1%.
Furthermore Annualized UK Retail Sales performed even worse. With the year to October printing at -2.7%, up from -1% the previous year and beyond the projected -1.5%.
Investors will be looking forward to the release of the Fed’s latest Meeting Minutes on Tuesday next week.
GBPUSD Technical Outlook
The GBPUSD exchange rates up 1.65% for the week. As the Pound Sterling holds on to what’s left of the mid-week gains.
As hourly candles fight with the 50-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA). A near term rising trendline from last week’s lows near 1.2200 keeps intraday action on the upper side. But a flattening 200-hour SMA is set to continue dragging bids back into the median area.
Moreover as the pair struggles to build new long-term momentum. Daily candlesticks show the GBPUSD strung up on the 200-day SMA. And this week’s peak at the 1.2500 handle is the important figure for bulls to beat.
