GBP/USD – Unchanged As Markets Await BOE Inflation Hearings, Yellen Testimony

The pound is almost unchanged on Tuesday, as GBP/USD is trading in the mid-1.54 range in the North American session. In the UK, Governor Mark Carney is testifying at parliamentary inflation report hearings. Over in the US, Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen will testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Earlier, CB Consumer Confidence slipped to 96.4 points, shy of the forecast of 99.6 points.

The markets will be keeping a close eye on Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, who testifies before the Senate Banking Committee later on Tuesday. Last week’s Fed minutes were dovish in stance, as policymakers expressed concern about a mid-year rate hike hurting the US recovery. Will Yellen provide any hints about the timing of a rate hike? If she does, we could see some movement from GBP/USD.

US releases started the week on a sour note, as Existing Home Sales slipped to 4.82 million in January, well off the estimate of 5.03 million. This marked a 9-month low for the key indicator. We’ll get a look at New Home Sales on Wednesday. Late last week, US key numbers were mixed. Unemployment Claims rebounded strongly with a sharp drop of 283 thousand, compared to 304 thousand a week earlier. This easily beat the estimate of 293 thousand. The news was not as good from the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, which slipped to 5.2 points, down from 6.3 points and a third straight drop. The markets had expected a reading of 8.8 points.

GBP/USD for Tuesday, February 24, 2015

GBP/USD February 24 at 15:40 GMT

GBP/USD 1.5439 H: 1.5465 L: 1.5401

GBP/USD Technical

• GBP/USD has been marked by choppy trading throughout the day and has shown little change.
• 1.5392 is a weak support line. 1.5282 is stronger.
• 1.5505 remains an immediate resistance line.
• Current range: 1.5392 to 1.5505

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.5392, 1.5282, 1.5165, 1.5008 and 1.4873
• Above: 1.5505, 1.5642, 1.5786 and 1.5888

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

GBP/USD ratio is almost unchanged on Tuesday. This is consistent with the lack of movement we’re seeing from the pair. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the pound moving higher.

GBP/USD Fundamentals

• 9:10 BOE External Member Kristin Forbes Speaks.
• 10:00 British Inflation Report Hearings.
• 14:00 US S&P/Composite-20 HPI. Estimate 4.5%. Actual 4.5%.
• 14:45 US Flash Services PMI. Estimate 54.5 points. Actual 57.0 points.
• 14:59 US Richmond Manufacturing Index. Estimate 7 points. Actual 0 points.
• 15:00 US CB Consumer Confidence. Estimate 99.6 points. Actual 96.4 points.
• 15:00 US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen Testifies.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

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