GBP/USD back near 1.3150 as PM May takes over Brexit negotiations

• The Sterling is holding near the week’s highs as Brexit concerns get cooled off on PM May taking the reigns of EU negotiations.
• A thin economic calendar for Wednesday leaves overall market sentiment to decide the pair’s direction.

The GBP/USD is trading just beneath 1.3150 ahead of Wednesday’s London market session. The Sterling dipped to a low of 1.3070 on Tuesday, but managed to stage a rebound to bring the week into positive territory, and a new high has been marked in for the  week at 1.3160, giving today’s bulls a target to aim for.

Wednesday’s calendar for the GBP/USD is on the thin side for both the Sterling and the Greenback, with BBA Mortgage Approvals at 08:30 GMT and CBI Distributive Trades Survey at 10:00 GMT, both low-tier indicators for the UK, while the most important figure for the upcoming US session will be monthly New Home Sales figures for June at 14:00 GMT, forecast to contract from 689 thousand to 670 thousand.

After months of tail-chasing and squabbling within the UK’s parliament, Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that she will be personally leading up negotiations with the European Union on securing trade agreements in preparation for Brexit, but with March 2019 fast approaching and little leg-work done on establishing  a safe trade conduit between the UK and the EU, good tidings on the Brexit are having a muted effect, and the Sterling remains close to the bearish side as action keeps the pair restrained near the week’s opening prices.

GBP/USD Levels to watch

Markets are spreading on where the GBP/USD should head next as technical indicators begin to middle with little action in either direction, and as FXStreet’s own Valeria Bednarik noted, “the 4 hours chart shows that the pair met buyers in an approach to a mild bullish 20 SMA, but also that it holds below a bearish 200 EMA, while technical indicators turned sharply lower, now nearing their mid-lines, not enough to confirm a bearish extension but clearly indicating limited buying interest.”

Support levels: 1.3080 1.3035 1.3000

Resistance levels: 1.3155  1.3195 1.3240