LONDON: For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the GBP rose 0.32% against the USD and closed at 1.2526. Yesterday, the European Commission (EC) upgraded Britain’s growth forecasts for 2017, but still expects a more severe hit to the economy eventually as Brexit will start to take effect on business decisions and inflation begins to rise at a quicker pace. The Commission now expects UK economy to expand by 1.5% in 2017, up from 1.0% predicted earlier in November. For 2018, the EC has pencilled in a slowdown in growth to 1.2%. In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.2532, with the GBP trading a tad higher against the USD from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.2493, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.2454. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.2555, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.2578. Trading trend in the Pound today is expected to be determined by the release of UK’s January inflation figures, slated to release in a few hours. The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and trading above its 50 Hr moving average.
