FX.co ★ GBP/USD

Pound Sterling (GBP) moves a bit higher versus the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, with traders appearing confident that the Bank of England (BoE) will hike interest rates next week, even though there is reduced speculation about a more aggressive Federal Reserve (Fed), despite positive economic data from the US that was released on Thursday. GBP/USD is trading around 1.3394, up 0.19%. Notably, American stocks, especially tech stocks, are taking a beating after the Nasdaq dropped more than 3% following “disappointing tech earnings,” Bloomberg reported. In the UK, investors have reacted positively to the budget. Finance Minister John Healey delivered the first budget of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s administration, consistent with fiscal guidelines set by the previous Chancellor of the Exchequer, Reeves. In addition, the Bank of England is expected to hike the Bank Rate to 4%. The swaps market had priced in a 100% probability, and if the BoE is right, GBP/USD will gain even more ground, given that the interest-rate differential between the US and the UK will be 0%. The US economic calendar will be busy next week. The ISM Manufacturing & Services PMI for October and various labor-related releases are on the calendar. The labor indicators include JOLTS, ADP Employment Change, Initial Jobless Claims, and the main event of the week: Nonfarm Payrolls. The daily GBP/USD pair is trading at 1.3394. The pair showsldly positive near-term tone as it tratradesthe triple simple moving averageaverage at the 1. evel, whdiindicatiindicatingits pandus rerecapturedthe 1level, which is now serving asatical su Price is now1 levelg downward trendline resist, while the Relative Strength Index (14) at 56.7 shows that momentum remains in a favorable range for the bulls without becoming overbought yet. On the upside, a clear breakout above the near-term trendline resistance of 1.3391 will push price toward higher resistance at the upward support-turned-resistance lines at 1.3656 and 1.3833. On the downside, initial support is at 1.3392, followed by the triple simple moving averages at 1.3380 and the recaptured downward trendline at 1.3251.