Several market entry signals were formed yesterday. Let's take a look at the 5-minute chart and see what happened. I paid attention to the 1.1595 level in my morning forecast and advised making decisions on entering the market from it. A breakthrough and reverse test from the top down of this range gave a great buy signal, which, unfortunately, did not materialize due to rather weak statistics on activity in the UK manufacturing sector, which continued to decline in August this year. This was enough for the pound to fall to another annual low. In the afternoon, after the breakdown of the next support at 1.1540, a reverse test from the bottom up of this range took place with a sell signal, which resulted in the pound's decline by more than 40 points.
When to go long on GBP/USD:
Today there is nothing in the UK and it is obvious that the focus will be on data on the US labor market, which, with all the bears' hopes, can push the pound to rise by the end of the week, since whatever indicators come out, they are already taken into account in current quotes. Since the opening of the week, the pound has already lost more than 200 points, and it is unlikely that there will be those who want to continue selling the pair without a more or less upward correction. For this reason, I will bet on forming the lower boundary of the new rising channel around 1.1516 and on protecting this level after the release of US labor market reports.
In case GBP/USD falls, forming a false breakout at 1.1516 will lead to the first signal to open long positions in anticipation of a correction to the 1.1562 area, where the moving averages pass, limiting the pair's upward potential. However, trading is now being carried out so close to this indicator, which indicates a clear lack of bearish desire to sell the pound further and an imminent correction. A lot depends on 1.1562, as its breakthrough may pull stop orders from speculative bears. A test of 1.1562 from top to bottom will testify to a return of demand for GBP/USD and creates a buy signal with growth to a more distant level of 1.1604. The farthest target will be the area of 1.1650, where I recommend taking profits.
If the GBP/USD falls further and there are no bulls at 1.1516, the pressure on the pair will increase. A breakthrough of this range will lead to the renewal of the next annual low. In this case, I advise you to postpone long positions until the next support at 1.1473, but you can act there only on a false breakout. I recommend opening long positions on GBP/USD immediately for a rebound from 1.1409, or even lower - around 1.1360, counting on correcting 30-35 points within the day.
When to go short on GBP/USD:
Bears continue to push the pound down, making new daily lows every day, which indicates that they are still in control of the market. The only problem they may have now is the weak statistics on the US labor market, which, despite its strength, may begin to deflate after a series of fairly large interest rate hikes that took place this summer. Therefore, selling on the breakdown of annual lows is a rather risky strategy for today. It is much better to act based on an upward correction. The optimal scenario for selling GBP/USD would be forming a false breakout at the level of 1.1562, which was formed at the end of yesterday. This will make it possible to achieve a new fall and renewal of annual lows around 1.1516. A breakdown and reverse test of this range will give a new entry point for selling with a fall to 1.1473, and a longer target will be the area of 1.1409 – the low of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began, where I recommend taking profits.
In case GBP/USD grows and there are no bears at 1.1562, there will be ghostly chances for an upward correction, and bulls will have an excellent opportunity to return to 1.1604, where the moving averages play on the bears' side. Only a false breakout there will provide an entry point into short positions based on the pair moving down. If there is no activity there, I advise you to sell GBP/USD immediately for a rebound from 1.1650, counting on the pair's rebound to the downside by 30-35 points within the day.
COT report:
The Commitment of Traders (COT) report for August 23 logged an increase in both short positions and long positions. And although the latter turned out to be a bit more, these changes did not affect the real current picture. Serious pressure on the pair remains, and recent statements by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the committee will continue to aggressively raise interest rates further have only increased pressure on the British pound, which has been experiencing quite a lot of problems lately. Expected high inflation and a looming cost-of-living crisis in the UK does not give traders room to take long positions, as a fairly large range of weak fundamentals is expected ahead, likely to push the pound even further below the levels at which it is currently trading. This week, it is important to pay attention to data on the US labor market, which, among other things, determine the Fed's decision on monetary policy. Continued resilience with low unemployment will lead to higher inflationary pressures going forward, forcing the Fed to further raise interest rates, putting pressure on risky assets, including the British pound. The latest COT report indicated that long non-commercial positions rose 14,699 to 58,783, while short non-commercial positions rose 9,556 to 86,749, leading to a slight rise in the negative non-commercial net position to -27,966 against - 33,109. The weekly closing price fell off from 1.1822 against 1.2096.
Indicator signals:
Trading is below the 30 and 50-day moving averages, which indicates the pair's succeeding decline.
Moving averages
Note: The period and prices of moving averages are considered by the author on the H1 hourly chart and differs from the general definition of the classic daily moving averages on the daily D1 chart.
Bollinger Bands
In case the pair falls, the lower border of the indicator around 1.1516 will act as support. In case of growth, the upper border of the indicator around 1.1562 will act as resistance.
Description of indicators
- Moving average (moving average, determines the current trend by smoothing out volatility and noise). Period 50. It is marked in yellow on the chart.
- Moving average (moving average, determines the current trend by smoothing out volatility and noise). Period 30. It is marked in green on the chart.
- MACD indicator (Moving Average Convergence/Divergence — convergence/divergence of moving averages) Quick EMA period 12. Slow EMA period to 26. SMA period 9
- Bollinger Bands (Bollinger Bands). Period 20
- Non-commercial speculative traders, such as individual traders, hedge funds, and large institutions that use the futures market for speculative purposes and meet certain requirements.
- Long non-commercial positions represent the total long open position of non-commercial traders.
- Short non-commercial positions represent the total short open position of non-commercial traders.
- Total non-commercial net position is the difference between short and long positions of non-commercial traders.
