The biggest story Friday was the sharp rise in the GBP/USD. After hitting a fresh five-year low at 1.4079 on Thursday, the currency pair rallied towards 1.4365 despite Friday's weaker-than expected retail sales report. The rise can be attributed to the result of profit-taking after the recent linear decline in the British pound. The cable now faces the 1.4250/30 support-area once again but as long as the pair remains trading above that zone we expect some possible upward swings which may occur in the near-term (see technical analysis below).
The most important piece of U.K. economic data will be Gross Domestic Product, scheduled for release on Thursday and if data disappoints to the downside, sterling could be vulnerable to further losses again. On Tuesday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney appears in Parliament to speak on financial-stability risks and a major topic could be the U.K. referendum on its membership in the EU and a potential "Brexit".
The EUR/USD trended slightly lower, moving around the 1.08 support level. For the time being, we anticipate the 1.0770-level to be the next support before a renewed downswing toward 1.0730/15. On the upper side, we see current resistance-levels at 1.0835 and 1.0860.
The most important piece of Eurozone data this week will be the German IFO report, due for release at 9:00 GMT today. If IFO numbers fall short of expectations, the euro could tumble toward lower targets. Furthermore, German Consumer Prices are scheduled for release on Thursday.
All eyes will be on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. While the central bank is not expected to alter its monetary policy and there will be no press conference, the statement could fail to add further strength to the U.S. dollar. Rather, the risk for the USD is to the downside, in case the FOMC statement turns out to be more dovish, suggesting a rate hike in March is less likely.
Further important U.S. economic reports are due for release with Consumer Confidence (Tuesday), Durable Goods Orders (Thursday) and U.S. Gross Domestic Product (Friday).
Looking at the 4-hour chart, we see that there could be some upside room after a break of 1.4365. A next bullish target could be at 1.4420/45 with a possible extension until 1.4470. However a current support-zone is seen at 1.4250/30 and if the cable falls again below that level, we expect bearish momentum to accelerate towards 1.4170 and 1.4130.
Here are our daily signal alerts:
EUR/USD
Long at 1.0825 SL 25 TP 20, 40
Short at 1.0785 SL 25 TP 40
GBP/USD
Long at 1.4312 SL 25 TP 25, 50
Short at 1.4240 SL 25 TP 20, 35
We wish you good trades and many pips!
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