Mayday, mayday! The pound plummeted on Friday, taking GBP/USD from a high of 1.6248 to a low of 1.6150. GBP/JPY, on the other hand, struggled to hold on to the 157.50 minor psychological handle. What’s in store for the pound today?
U.K. GDP for the third quarter of the year came in line with consensus at 0.8%, slightly higher than the previous quarter’s growth figure, which enjoyed an upward revision from 0.6% to 0.7%. However, pound traders still didn’t seem to be satisfied with the small expansion in the economy. Perhaps they’re waiting for more convincing signs that the rebound has momentum.
The only release on the U.K.'s schedule for today is the CBI realized sales figure, which is due 12:00 pm GMT. The report could show a drop from 34 to 33 for October, which would mean that sales volume declined slightly for the month. Another event to watch out for is MPC member Dale’s speech at 2:20 pm, as it could cause volatility for pound pairs. Stay on your toes!
The pound got a big “L” stamped on it yesterday as it lost to its major counterparts. Heck, GBP/USD, EUR/GBP, and even GBP/JPY showed weaknesses!
With the U.K.’s CBI realized sales numbers surprising to the downside, who could blame the bears from attacking? The report printed a reading of 2, which is a heck of a lot weaker than the downtick from 34 to 33 that market geeks had been expecting. Apparently, grocers aren’t feeling too optimistic over the industry’s growth after already showing three months of consecutive gains.
Today’s another big day for the pound as the individual lending numbers is due at 10:30 am GMT, along with the mortgage approvals report. Both reports are expected to show better numbers than last month, but don’t discount the possibility of downside surprises!
Oh bloody hell! Cable took another nasty tumble in yesterday’s trading, as the pair broke below the 1.6100 major psychological support and reached a low of 1.6024. GBP/JPY also had its share of losses but was able to bounce of support at 157.00.
Data from the U.K. was mixed, with the net lending to individuals data showing a weaker than expected 1.5 billion GBP reading versus the 2.5 billion GBP estimate and the mortgage approvals figure coming in slightly higher than the consensus of a 65K increase.
There are no reports due from the United Kingdom today so it could be all about risk sentiment driving pound price action. If you’re planning on trading GBP/USD, don’t forget that the FOMC is set to make its monetary policy statement in today’s U.S. session so y’all better brace yourselves for potential fireworks then!
Thanks to the lack of reports from the U.K, the pound’s price action was as mixed as costumes in a Halloween party. GBP/USD lost 10 pips while GBP/JPY ended the day 61 pips higher than its open price.
We didn’t see any news data from the U.K. yesterday, so the pound danced to the tune of risk appetite. Unfortunately for the pound bulls, traders bought the dollars ahead of and at the release of the FOMC statement.
Only the Nationwide house price index at 8:00 am GMT is scheduled for today, so you might want to look at other major news releases for possible news trade opportunities.
Still holdin’ like a boss! The 1.6000 major psychological level refused to give way to GBP/USD, as the pair managed to stay above this support area for the entire trading day. GBP/JPY, on the other hand, edged a little lower as it dipped to a low of 157.28. What’s in store for the pound today?
U.K. data came in stronger than expected yesterday, with the Nationwide HPI report printing a 1.0% increase in house prices for October. This is higher than the estimate of a 0.7% uptick and the previous month’s 0.9% increase.
Up ahead, we have the U.K. manufacturing PMI figure up for release at 10:30 am GMT. This is expected to show a decline from 56.7 to 56.3 for October, which would mark its second consecutive monthly drop. An upside surprise could help keep GBP/USD above the 1.6000 mark while a weaker than expected reading could trigger a sharp breakdown. Better keep tabs on this report if you’re trading the pound!