GBP/USD: What to expect from the Pound over the coming weeks and months
The GBP/USD pair continues shedding part of its post-UK election’s gains, although at levels last seen several months ago. Hopes that PM Johnson will pass his Brexit deal through Parliament will keep the Sterling on the winning side.
The GBP/USD pair is moving quite fast down, correcting the extreme overbought conditions reached after the release of the UK election initial results. Now trading at around 1.3380, there’s a huge unfilled gap, clear in the 4-hour chart, from 1.3184 to 1.3346. This last is the immediate support with further slides expected once below it. Nevertheless, the pair is bullish, as technical indicators barely retreat from extreme overbought territory, and as it develops above all of its moving averages. GBP/USD will likely continue trading in a wide intraday range until it founds some stability.
Support levels: 1.3345 1.3300 1.3250
Resistance levels: 1.3420 1.3465 1.3515
The GBP/USD pair soared to levels last seen in May 2018 on the back of the outcome of the UK elections. Initial results indicated a Conservatives’ victory, later confirmed. The pair hit 1.3513 with exit polls, now trading below 1.3400 as the news was pretty much priced in ahead of the event. Nevertheless and at this time of the day, Johnson & Co. have won 364 seats, more than enough to secure a majority, and pass through Parliament his Brexit deal. Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed he won’t lead his party into another election, assuming the defeat.
PM Johnson celebrated the victory by stating that Brexit is now “irrefutable” and should get done. Not all were roses. The Scottish National Party won a huge majority of seats north of the border, opening up the prospect of a second referendum on independence.
The Brexit uncertainty remains the biggest challenge for UK. Sterling is expected to weaken at the beginning of 2019 and rebound sharply after the Brexit uncertainty fades away. Sterling is set to chart a check mark symbol in 2019. With the UK government still working its way to the UK parliament with the Brexit agreement approval, the Brexit uncertainty is set to prevail the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019.
The Pound VS Dollar can be seriously affected by news or the decisions taken by two main central banks:
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. Established in 1694 and privately owned in the beginning, the Bank was nationalised in 1946 so now is completely owned by the UK government. BOE's main reason to be is to maintain monetary and financial stability in the country. Some of its other tasks are producing secure bank notes, operating asset purchase facility and keeping the inflation low and stable. The bank is overseen by the Court, named used to reffer the board of directors, and is accountable to Parliament and the public.
BOE Official Website, on Twitter and Facebook
On the other
FED Official Website, on Twitter and Facebook
Mark Carney
Mark Carney is Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee and the Board of the Prudential Regulation Authority. He joined the Bank on 1 July 2013. Carney was born in Canada in 1965 and graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1988. In Oxford University, he also received a master’s degree and a doctorate both in Ecobomics in 1993 and 1995 respectively. Before becoming the Governor of the BOE, he worked as a Governor of the Bank of Canada (BOC) from February 1st. 2008 until June 3rd. 2013.
Carney on BOE'S Profile and Wikipedia
Jerome Powell
Jerome Powell took office as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2018, for a four-year term ending in February 2022. His term as a member of the Board of Governors will expire January 31, 2028. Born in Washington D.C., he received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. Powell served as an assistant secretary and as undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush. He also worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City. From 1997 through 2005, Powell was a partner at The Carlyle Group.
Jerome Powell Fed's Profile and Wikipedia
The GBP/USD (or Pound Dollar) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', a way to mention the most important pairs in the world. The pair is also called 'The Cable', reffering to the first Transatlantic cable that was crossing the Atlantic Ocean in order to connect Great Britain with the United States of America. This term originated in the mid-19th century, which makes it one of the oldest currency pairs.
Pound Dollar represents two economies: British and American (from United States of America). The Cable is a widely observed and traded currency pair where the Pound is the base currency and the US Dollar is the counter currency. After the result of the Brexit referendum, this pair has been suffering some turbulence due to risk related with the abandonment process from the European Union.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD (or Euro Dollar) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', a way to mention the most important pairs in the world. This group also includes the following currency pairs: GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD and USD/CAD. The popularity of Euro Dollar is due to the fact that it gathers two main economies: the European and American (from United States of America) ones. This is a widely traded currency pair where the Euro is the base currency and the US Dollar is the counter currency. Since the EUR/USD pair consists of more than half of all the trading volume worldwide in the Forex Market, it is almost impossible for a gap to appear, let alone a consequent breakaway gap in the opposite direction.
Normally, the EUR/USD is very quiet during the Asian session because economic data that affects the fundamentals of those currencies is released in either the European or U.S. session. Once traders in Europe get to their desks a flurry of activity hits the tape as they start filling customer orders and jockey for positions. At noon activity slows down as traders step out for lunch and then picks back up again as the U.S. comes online.
USD/JPY
The USD/JPY (or US Dollar Japanese Yen) currency pair belongs to the group of 'Majors', a way to mention the most important pairs in the world. This group also includes the following currency pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD and USD/CAD. Japanese Yen has a low interest rate and is normally used in carry trades. This is the reason why is one of the most trades currencies worldwide. In the USD/JPY the US Dollar is the base currency and the Japanese Yen is the counter currency. The pair represents American (from United States of America) and Japanese economies.
Trading the USD/JPY currency pair is also known as trading the "ninja" or the "gopher", although this last name is more frequently used when referred to the GBP/JPY currency pair. The US Dollar Japanese Yen usually has a positive correlation with the following two pairs: USD/CHF and USD/CAD. The nature of this correlation is due to the fact that both currency pairs also use the US Dollar as the base currency, such as USD/JPY. The value of the pair tends to be affected when the two main central banks of each country, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed), face serious interest rate differential.