GBP/USD – British pound steadies after dismal week

GBP/USD is showing little movement on Monday. In the North American session, the pair is trading at 1.2740, up 0.20% on the day. The pair dropped 2.2% last week, its sharpest weekly loss since October 2017. On the release front, British CB Leading Index posted a gain of 0.5%, after a decline of 0.4% in the previous release. There are no U.S. data events on the schedule. On Tuesday, BoE Governor Mark Carney testifies about inflation and the economic outlook before the Treasury Committee. The U.K. will release CBI Industrial Order Expectations and the U.S. posts existing home sales.

U.S. numbers impressed late in the week, and the positive news was spread across the economy. The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index jumped to 16.6, up from 8.5 a month earlier. Unemployment claims dropped to 212 thousand, marking a 4-week high. The week ended with a sizzling release from UoM Consumer Sentiment, which climbed to 102.4, its highest level in 15 years.

Brexit has been on the backburner for several weeks, but will be back on center stage in early June. Parliament is expected to vote yet again on a Brexit withdrawal agreement, after three previous attempts by the May government ended in failure. It’s difficult to see why the result will be any different this time around, as Conservative lawmakers remain deeply divided on Brexit. May tried to enlist the help of Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, but these talks have been unproductive. The next Brexit vote in parliament will be May’s last chance before the summer recess, and her days as prime minister may be numbered.

Australian & Indian Election results provide risk-on flows on mixed Asian open

GBP/USD Fundamentals

Monday (May 20)

  • 9:30 British CB Leading Index. Actual -0.5%
  • 12:30 British MPC Member Broadbent Speaks
  • 13:05 US FOMC Member Clarida Speaks
  • 19:00 US Federal Reserve Chair Powell Speaks

Tuesday (May 21)

  • 4:30 British Inflation Report Hearings
  • 6:00 British CBI Industrial Order Expectations. Estimate -6
  • 10:00 US Existing Home Sales. Estimate 5.35M

*All release times are DST

*Key events are in bold

GBP/USD for Monday, May 20, 2019

GBP/USD May 20 at 10:40 DST

Open: 1.2719 High: 1.2757 Low: 1.2719 Close: 1.2740

GBP/USD Technical

S1 S2 S1 R1 R2 R3
1.2477 1.2615 12723 1.2841 1.2910 1.3000

GBP/USD posted small gains in the Asian session. In European trade, the pair edged higher but then gave up some of these gains. The pair is showing limited movement in the North American session

  • 1.2723 is a weak support level
  • 1.2841 is the next resistance line
  • Current range: 1.2723 to 1.2841

Further levels in both directions:

  • Below: 1.2723, 1.2615 and 1.2477
  • Above: 1.2841, 1.2910, 1.3000 and 1.3070

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.