GBPUSD:
The Pound-Dollar pair attracted some buying during the Asian session on Tuesday and so far seems to have broken a five-day losing streak, hitting a near four-week low near 1.3160 reached the previous day. However, spot prices are unable to consolidate above the 1.3100 mark, causing bullish traders to be somewhat cautious.
Investors remain concerned that tensions in the Middle East could escalate into a larger conflict. In addition, not-so-optimistic comments from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) overshadowed the recent optimism from China’s stimulus measures and curbed investors’ appetite for risky assets. This is evidenced by the overall weak tone in equity markets, which in turn could help drive inflows into the US Dollar and constrain the GBP/USD pairing.
Meanwhile, Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey said last week that there is a possibility that the central bank could become more aggressive in cutting rates if there is further good news on inflation. This could help limit British Pound (GBP) gains and suggests that the path of least resistance for the GBP/USD pair lies to the downside. As such, any further upward movement could be seen as a selling opportunity and risks quickly coming to naught.
On Tuesday, no market-important economic data will be released from either the UK or the US, so the dollar and the GBP/USD pair will depend on the Fed’s words. Meanwhile, attention will be focused on the release of the FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday. It will be followed by data on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) in the US, which will play a key role in stimulating demand for the dollar and will give a new impetus to the currency pair.
Trading recommendation: Watch the level of 1.3100, when fixing above it consider Buy positions, when rebounding we consider Sell positions.
