On the hourly chart, the GBP/USD pair on Wednesday fell to the level of 1.2250 and bounced off it. A weak rise began towards the corrective level of 23.6% (1.2321), which the pair may not reach. Consolidation of quotes below the level of 1.2250 will work in favor of the US currency and further decline towards the level of 1.2175. Consolidation of the pair above 1.2321 will increase the chances of a resumption of growth towards the next corrective level of 38.2% (1.2477).
The wave situation remains ambiguous. In recent weeks, we have observed horizontal movement with rare bursts of trader activity, but last Friday ended with the formation of a strong upward wave that broke the peaks of all waves over the past 2 months. Thus, on the one hand, a "bullish" trend is now forming, but I doubt that it will develop. I think the more likely scenario is the formation of a new "bearish" trend. Also short-term, with the pair falling to the level of 1.2106.
Yesterday, Jerome Powell spoke at a conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Federal Reserve's research and statistics department. However, in his speech, the Fed chairman did not touch on the topic. Thus, traders did not receive any new and important information. As a result, there was no market reaction either. Today, Powell will speak again. If he does it with the same success, then this event will be transient. This week, there are an extremely small number of important entries in the calendar, and we rightly observe weak movements in the pair. Nevertheless, the British pound has been falling since the beginning of the week, which may indicate a gradually growing strength of the bears.
On the 4-hour chart, the pair made a reversal in favor of the US currency and consolidated below the corrective level of 50.0% (1.2289). Thus, the downward process can be continued towards the next level of 1.2035. A new closing above 1.2289 will mean little. It is better to rely on the hourly chart now. There are no impending divergences observed today in any of the indicators.
Commitments of Traders (COT) report:
The sentiment of the "non-commercial" trader category for the last reporting period has become more "bearish." The number of long contracts held by speculators decreased by 3407 units, and the number of short contracts decreased by 1672 units. The overall sentiment of major players has long changed to "bearish," and the gap between the number of long and short contracts is increasing, but now in the other direction: 64,000 versus 84,000. In my opinion, the British pound still has excellent prospects for further decline. I still do not expect a strong rise in the pound in the near future. I believe that over time, bulls will continue to get rid of buy positions, as is the case with the euro. The recent growth we have seen in recent weeks is corrective.
News Calendar for the US and the UK:
US - Initial Jobless Claims (13:30 UTC).
US - Speech by the head of the Fed, Mr. Powell (19:00 UTC).
On Thursday, the economic events calendar contains only one important entry: Jerome Powell's speech. The impact of the information background on market sentiment for the rest of the day can be of moderate strength.
Forecast for GBP/USD and trader advice:
I advised selling the pound yesterday when consolidating below the level of 1.2321 on the hourly chart with the nearest target. Such a level is 1.2250, and it has already been reached. Closing below it will allow staying in sales with targets of 1.2175 and 1.2106. Buying today is quite unsafe.
