On Wednesday, GBP/USD is trading in different directions near the 1.2575 level. Market activity remains moderate as investors await the publication of a number of important macroeconomic data from the United States. The March report by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) on employment in the US private sector will be released today. Analysts expect an increase in employment from 140.0 thousand to 148.0 thousand. Also at 16:00 (GMT+2), data on the business activity of the US services sector from ISM will be published. The index is projected to rise from 52.6 to 52.7 points in March. In addition, on Wednesday, there will be speeches by representatives of the Fed, including Jerome Powell, who are expected to clarify the prospects for monetary policy this year. The main market scenario still assumes a 25 basis point interest rate cut in June, although the likelihood of such an outcome has been gradually decreasing in recent weeks. In total, analysts expect at least three rate adjustments by the regulator during 2024.
In addition, investors continue to discuss February data on the dynamics of consumer lending in the UK. Thus, the net volume of consumer lending for the month increased from 0.8 billion pounds to 2.888 billion pounds, exceeding forecasts of 1.2 billion pounds, and the number of approved mortgage applications increased from 56.087 thousand to 60.383 thousand, exceeding forecasts of 56.5 thousand. The index of business activity in the UK manufacturing sector from S&P Global strengthened from 47.5 points to 50.3 points in March, moving above the key level of 50 points for the first time since July 2022. House prices, according to the British building society Nationwide Building Society, decreased by 0.2% in March, and increased by 1.6% year-on-year compared with preliminary estimates of 2.4%. Nevertheless, the annual indicator showed the highest value since December 2022, which confirms the positive prospects for the recovery of the housing market.
Technical analysis for GBP/USD
The Bollinger Band indicator on the daily chart (D1) shows a steady decline. The MACD is also declining, maintaining a weak sell signal. Stochastic is flat near the 20% level.
Long positions are advisable after a confident breakout of the 1.2600 level. The target is 1.2700. We will set the stop loss at 1.2539.
A rebound from the resistance of 1.2600, followed by a breakdown down to the level of 1.2539, will be a signal to form short positions with a target of 1.2450. We will place a stop loss at 1.2600.