On Thursday, the GBP/USD currency pair pulled off the current 10-month highs of about 1.2538 to trade at about 1.2523. The currency pair continues to trade within an ascending channel formation in the 60-min chart.
As a result, the pair has now ascended to trade several levels above the 100-hour moving average line. This continues to pin the currency pair closer to the overbought levels of the 14-hour RSI.
GBP/USD Fundamentals Overview
From a fundamental perspective, the GBP/USD currency pair trades at the back of a relatively busy period in both markets. On Thursday, the UK gross domestic product for February missed the expected (MoM) change of 0.1% with a change of 0%. The UK Industrial Production for the period also fell short of the forecasted (MoM) change of 0.2% with a change of -0.2%, while the Manufacturing Production missed 0.2% with a change of 0% (MoM). The (YoY) equivalent beat the estimated change of -4.7% with a change of -2.4%.
In the US, the initial jobless claims for the week ending April 7 missed the expected claim count of 232k with a slightly higher tally of 239k. On the other hand, continuing claims for the preceding period beat the forecast of 1.814 million claims with a lower tally of 1.81 million, while the Producer Price Index ex-food and energy matched the (YoY) expectation of 3.4%. Earlier in the week, the US consumer price index ex-food and energy also matched both the (MoM) and (YoY) forecasts of 0.4% and 5.6%, respectively.
GBP/USD Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)
Technically, the GBP/USD currency pair seems to be trading within an ascending channel formation in the 60-min chart. This indicates a significant short-term bullish bias in the market sentiment.
Therefore, the bulls will be looking to extend the current rally towards 1.2538 or higher to 1.2555. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 1.2508 or lower at 1.2493.
GBP/USD Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)
In the daily chart, the GBP/USD currency pair appears to be trading within a sharply ascending channel formation. This indicates a strong long-term bullish bias in the market sentiment.
Therefore, the bulls will be targeting extended gains at about 1.2595 or higher at 1.2681. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 1.2431 or lower at 1.2347.