GBP/USD – Pound Steady as Markets Closed in US and UK

The British pound has posted slight gains on Friday, after losing ground for three straight days. Currently, GBP/USD is trading at 1.4052, up 0.23% on the day. On the release front, British and US banks are closed for the Easter holiday. With no economic indicators on the schedule, GBP/USD is unlikely to show much movement during the day.

The US economy continues to show strong expansion. On Wednesday, US revised GDP for the third quarter came in at 2.9%, beating the estimate of 2.7%. This reading was revised upwards from the initial GDP estimate of 2.5%. Fourth quarter growth, although solid, could not keep up with a superb third quarter, which posted a gain of 3.2%. As for 2018, first quarter growth is expected to soften to 1.8%, but there is still a strong chance that the economy could hit 3% growth this year, as promised by US President Trump. The catalysts for such a rosy prediction are the massive tax cut and higher government spending. Where does this leave the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates last week? Currently, the Fed is projecting to more rate hikes this year, but if the economy remains strong and inflation levels move closer to the Fed target of 2%, we could see four rate increases in 2018.

Britain and the European Union recently agreed to a transition phase in the Brexit process, which is meant to cushion Britain’s departure from the club. In particular, the business sector will have to adapt to the new reality of post-Brexit. The British economy has performed better than most had expected, with the uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European Union in March 2019. Still, all is not well with the economy, as underscored by retail sales and consumer confidence indicators for March. The CBI Retail Sales survey has pointed to sales volumes softening in recent months, and this troubling trend continued in March, with a reading of -8 points. Consumer confidence is also waning, as GfK Consumer Confidence has posted consecutive declines since April 2016. Still, the British pound has enjoyed a solid March, with gains of 2.1% against the US dollar.

GBP/USD Fundamentals

 Friday (March 30)

• There are no British or US events

*All release times are GMT

*Key events are in bold

GBP/USD for Friday, March 30, 2018

GBP/USD March 30 at 8:30 EDT

Open: 1.4020 High: 1.4061 Low: 1.4013 Close: 1.4052

GBP/USD Technical

GBP/USD showed little movement in the Asian session and posted slight gains in European trade

• 1.4010 is providing support
• 1.4128 is the next resistance line
• Current range: 1.4010 to 1.4128

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.4010, 1.3901 and 1.3793
• Above: 1.4128, 1.4227, 1.4345 and 1.4452

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

GBP/USD ratio continues to show slight gains in long positions. Currently, short and long positions are evenly split, indicative of a lack of trader bias towards GBP/USD.

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.