Cable Rallies amid US Housing Data

The Great Britain Pound (GBP) inched higher against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, increasing the price of GBPUSD to more than 1.3900 following some key economic events. The technical bias remains bullish because of a higher low in the recent downside move.

GBP/USD Technical Analysis

As of this writing, the pair is being traded near 1.3922. A hurdle may be noted around 1.3955 (a major horizontal resistance zone) ahead of 1.4000(a psychological level) and then 1.4043 (another major resistance area).

On the downside, a support can be noted around 1.3000 (a psychological number) ahead of 1.2634 (the low of the last major downside move) and then 1.2500 (the confluence of horizontal support as well as psychological number) as demonstrated in the given above chart. The technical bias shall remain bullish as long as the 1.2700 support area is intact.

US Housing Data

Housing starts decreased 8.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.192 million units last month, the Commerce Department said. November’s sales pace was revised up to 1.299 million units from the previously reported 1.297 million units.

The percentage drop for housing starts in December was the largest since November 2016. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts declining to a pace of 1.275 million units last month. Homebuilding increased 2.4 percent to 1.202 million units in 2017, the highest level since 2007.

Building permits edged down 0.1 percent to a rate of 1.302 million units in December, outpacing starts, which suggests a rebound in groundbreaking in the coming months. Building permits increased 4.7 percent to 1.263 million units in 2017, also the highest level since 2007.

Trade Idea

Considering the overall technical and fundamental outlook, selling the pair around current levels may be a good strategy in short to medium term.

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