For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, GBP fell 0.27% against the USD on Friday and closed at 1.5294, as demand for the dollar increased following reports that the Standard & Poor’s ratings agency downgraded nine Euro-zone countries.
On Friday, the input Producer Price Index (PPI) in the UK retreated 0.6% (MoM) in December, following a revised 0.3% (MoM) rise in November. Meanwhile, output PPI declined 0.2% (MoM) in December, compared to a 0.2% (MoM) growth in November.
This morning, Rightmove indicated that, the House Price Index in the UK retreated 0.8% (MoM) in January, compared to a 2.7% (MoM) contraction in December. Additionally, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, stated that he sees some reason for optimism in Europe, while acknowledging that 2012 is set to be a challenging year.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.5313, with the GBP trading 0.12% higher from Friday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.5228, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.5143. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.5403, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.5494.
The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and is trading below its 50 Hr moving average.