GBPUSD Movement
For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, GBP rose 0.67% against the USD and closed at 1.6385, after the Bank of England (BoE) released its minutes from its December 5th policy meeting. The minutes revealed that that the policymakers voted unanimously in favour of maintaining the interest rate at 0.5% and quantitative easing at £375.0 billion. However, policymakers cautioned that further appreciation in Sterling may jeopardize the UK’s surprisingly strong economic recovery. The British Pound was further boosted after data indicated that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.4% in the three months through October, the lowest since June 2009, beating analysts’ projections of a reading of 7.6%. A separate report showed that the jobless claims fell 36,700 in November, while projections pointed to a 35,000 decline. Other economic news showed that the UK’s average earnings including bonus rose 0.9% on an annual basis for three months ended October, above market expectations and compared to a revised 0.8% rise recorded in the earlier three months.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.6373, with the GBP trading 0.07% lower from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.6269, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.6165. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.6481, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.6589.
Trading trends in the pair today are expected to be determined by the UK retail sales data, along with some key economic releases from the US.
The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and is trading above its 50 Hr moving average.
