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British Pound bounces off over one-week low vs soft USD; upside potential seems limited
- GBP/USD kicks off the new week on a positive note, though the upside seems limited.
- Reviving September Fed rate hike bets and geopolitical risks support the safe-haven USD.
- Traders now look to this week’s key US data, including the NFP report, for some impetus.
The GBP/USD pair edges higher at the start of a new week, reversing a part of Friday’s heavy losses to over a one-week trough. Spot prices, however, lack bullish conviction and trade below mid-1.3500s during the Asian session, warranting caution before confirming that the recent pullback from the highest level since February, touched earlier this month, has run its course.
The US Dollar (USD) pauses after Friday’s strong move up to a nearly two-week high amid month-end rebalancing and acts as a tailwind for the GBP/USD pair. The British Pound (GBP), on the other hand, draws support from UK Chancellor John Healey’s emphasis on maintaining fiscal discipline as the top priority for Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government ahead of the Autumn Budget on October 28.
Meanwhile, traders have been pushing back expectations for the next Bank of England (BoE) rate hike into 2027 from late 2026. In contrast, US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh’s comments on Friday lifted market bets for a rate hike in September. This, along with the risk of a fresh escalation of tensions between the US and Iran, should limit losses for the safe-haven buck and cap the GBP/USD pair.
In the latest developments surrounding the Middle East crisis, US forces have struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island in Iran. Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles from Tehran, Lorestan, Karaj, Khorramabad and Shiraz, and anti-ship cruise missiles from southern Iran toward the Strait of Hormuz. This prompts traders to again price in the geopolitical risk premium and favors USD bulls.
This week’s key focus will be on important US macro releases scheduled at the start of a new month, including the US monthly jobs data– popularly known as the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday. In the meantime, the fundamental backdrop suggests that the path of least resistance for the USD is to the upside and warrants caution before placing bullish bets on the GBP/USD pair.
GBP/USD 4-hour chart
Technical Analysis
The GBP/USD pair hovers between clustered Fibonacci supports and nearby moving average resistance, which suggests a neutral near-term bias. The 100-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart, at 1.3559 now caps the upside, with the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement at 1.3579 reinforcing an overhead barrier just above the current consolidation zone.
On the downside, initial support is located at the 38.2% Fibo. retracement at 1.3521, ahead of deeper structural floors at the 50.0% retracement at 1.3474 and the 61.8% level at 1.3427, while the 78.6% retracement at 1.3360 marks a more distant base.
