GBP/USD Forecast – British Pound Eyes 1.3600 Vs US Dollar
- – The British Pound is moving higher and it may soon test the 1.3600 level against the US Dollar.
- – There is a crucial bullish trend line forming with support at 1.3550 on the hourly chart of the GBP/USD pair.
- – Recently in the UK, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Shop Price Index for Dec 2017 was released.
- – The outcome was below the forecast of -0.5% as there was a decline in the index by 0.6% (YoY).
British Retail Consortium (BRC) Shop Price Index
Recently in the UK, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Shop Price Index for Dec 2017 was released. The market was positioned for a decline of around 0.5% in Dec 2017 compared with the same month a year ago.
The actual result was below the forecast of -0.5% as there was a decline in the index by 0.6%. It was also way below the last decline of 0.1%. Commenting on the report, Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive, British Retail Consortium, stated:
After several months of shop prices teetering on the edge of inflation, December saw them retreat deeper into deflationary territory. Prices in December fell at the fastest rate since March this year when only last month we saw the shallowest rate of deflation for four years.
However, there was no negative impact on the GBP/USD pair and it seems like the pair might continue to move higher towards 1.3600.
GBP/USD Technical Analysis
The British Pound started a decent upside move from the 1.3480 swing low against the US Dollar. The GBP/USD pair made good ground and was able to trade above the 1.3550 resistance, and also closed above the 100 hourly simple moving average.
The pair is now above the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the 1.3612 high to 1.3494 low. It is following a crucial bullish trend line with support at 1.3550 on the hourly chart. The same trend line around 1.3550 is close to the 100 hourly SMA.
At the moment, the pair is testing the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the 1.3612 high to 1.3494 low. A break and close above the 1.3560-70 levels could open the doors for a move towards 1.3600.
On the downside, the 1.3550 and 1.3540 are major supports and buy zones in the short term.
Also published on Medium.
Tags: British Pound, GBP/USD, GBP/USD Technical Analysis, US Dollar