For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, GBP rose 0.15% against the USD and closed at 1.5647 as investors continued to cheer UK’s previous week upbeat jobless claim and retail sales data. Moreover, the recent flurry of positive economic data in the UK gave enough reasons to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to raise its growth forecasts for Britain for 2013 and 2014.
The UK’s leading business group, CBI forecast GDP growth of 1.2% in 2013, up from 1.0% in its May forecast, after a better than expected second quarter and signs of a pick-up in confidence across a broad range of sectors. In 2014, the CBI expects the economy to gather pace, forecasting 2.3% GDP growth up from 2.0% in May, as disposable income increases and business and housing investment support domestic demand.
In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 1.5651, with the GBP trading slightly higher from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.5615, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.5580. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.5680, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.5710.
With lack of major economic releases in the UK, investors await the release of the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting, due on Wednesday, for further direction.
The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.