GBPUSD
The GBP to USD (GBPUSD) rose yesterday after the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released better-than-expected jobs numbers. It is now trading at 1.3265, which is a few pips below yesterday’s high of 1.3268. Analysts at UOB expect that the pair will continue rising and hit 1.3300 or even 1.3330.
Looking at the economic calendar, there is no major economic data scheduled for the UK today. The only one that trades will be watching will be a GDP estimate by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). The same is true in the United States, where there will be no major economic releases today.
Therefore, GBPUSD traders will be focusing on tomorrow, when the ONS will release important numbers. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the data to show that the economy expanded by 15.3% in the third quarter. That will be a better performance after the 19.8% contraction in the second quarter.
They also expect the economy to drop by an annualised rate of 9.4%. Other important numbers that will come out tomorrow from the UK will be manufacturing and industrial production, construction output, and trade data.
The GBP to USD will also react to inflation data from the US tomorrow. Analysts expect the data to show that consumer prices rose by 1.3% in October while the core CPI rose by 1.8% in the same month.
In a report earlier today, analysts at UOB said:
“While the rapid advance appears to be running ahead of itself, robust upward momentum suggests GBP could strengthen further to 1.3300, with lower odds for extension to 1.3330.”
On the daily chart, we see that the GBP to USD pair has been on a strong uptrend. At the current price of 1.3265, the price is above the ascending pink line that connects the lowest levels in May, June, September, and November. It is also slightly above the 50-day and 25-day exponential moving averages.
Therefore, I predict that the upward trend will continue so long as the price is above the pink trendline. For today, the main level to watch will be 1.3300. In the next few weeks, the level to watch is the 1st September high of 1.3475.
