On Thursday, the GBP/USD currency pair pulled back from the session highs of about 1.3270 to trade at about 1.3213 before bouncing back to 1.3236. The currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

Thursday’s pullback prevented the pair from ascending deeper into the overbought levels of the 14-hour RSI. The currency pair continues to trade several levels above the 100-hour moving average line.

GBP/USD Fundamentals Overview

From a fundamental perspective, the GBP/USD currency pair trades during a relatively busy period in the U.S. market. On Wednesday, the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index for November missed the expectation of 44.3, with a reading of 36.3. The durable goods orders for September outperformed the expected change of 0.3%, with a change of 0.5%. 

The durable goods orders ex-transportation for the period also outshone the estimate of 0.2%, with a change of 0.6%, while the durable goods orders ex-defence missed 1.9%, with a change of 0.1%. On the other hand, the initial jobless claims for last week came in better than expected, with 216k versus a forecast of 225k, down from the preceding week’s equivalent of 222k.

Earlier in the week, U.S. retail sales for September fell short of the forecasted change of 0.4%, with a change of 0.2%. The retail sales control group also delivered lower than expected change of -0.1%, versus a forecast of 0.3%, while the retail sales ex-autos fell short of 0.4%, with a change of 0.3%. 

GBP/USD Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)

Technically, the GBP/USD currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. However, the pair has recently pulled back to avoid rallying deeper into overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the latest pullback towards 1.3198 or lower to 1.3161. On the other hand, the bulls will look to ride the current rally towards 1.3270 or higher to 1.3305. 

GBP/USD Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the GBP/USD currency pair is about to break out from a descending channel after forming a double-bottom reversal. He 14-day RSI also has room left to run before reaching overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to extend the latest rebound towards 1.3341 or higher to 1.3434. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about 1.3129 or lower at 1.3026.