The pair has managed to hold on to support well but the upcoming week could be a challenge
Though the pound has managed to show a lot of strength over the last couple of weeks in the middle of some serious dollar strength and it did manage to hold on to the 1.35 region during this period, the upcoming week is going to be a serious challenge for the bulls with a host of news and data from the UK and the US scheduled to be released in the upcoming week.
The pound has been able to stave off the dollar strength to a great extent over the last few weeks and for most of this period, it did manage to hold on to the support region around 1.35. Though this did mark a great fall from the highs around the 1.43 region which we had seen only a couple of months earlier, the fact that the bulls managed to hold on ensured that it did not turn into a total rout for the pound.
The dollar strength has been due to the growing anticipation of further rate hikes from the Fed in the coming months and with the incoming data of late also picking up in strength, we are see a lot of buying of the dollar which is helping it move higher. The pound managed to chop around the support region around 1.35 during most of last week but the weak close for the week points to further weakness in the coming days.
Looking ahead to the coming week, there is a host of data from the UK with the GDP, retail sales, CPI all lining up to be released on different days along with the inflation report hearings and the speech from the BOE Governor Carney as well. This, along with the FOMC minutes and the speech from the Fed Chief Powell would ensure that there is going to be a lot of volatility in the upcoming week in the GBPUSD pair and unless the incoming data from the UK perks up, it is likely to be a very difficult time for the pound bulls.
Colin specializes in developing trading strategies and analyze financial instruments both technically and fundamentally. Colin holds a Bachelor of Engineering From Milwaukee University.