GBP/USD moves above 1.3300 handle, fresh weekly tops

   “¢   Hawkish BoE vote split continues to underpin GBP.
   “¢   Broad-based USD weakness provides an additional boost.
   “¢   Technical buying remains supportive of the strong up-move.

The GBP/USD pair continued marching higher on Friday and jumped back above the 1.3300 handle, or fresh weekly tops in the last hour.

The pair built on the overnight sharp reversal from the 1.3100 handle, or fresh YTD lows, and remained supported by the latest hawkish BoE vote spilt, which revived hopes for an August rate hike.

This coupled with the ongoing US Dollar corrective slide from 11-month tops provided an additional boost and further collaborated to the pair’s strong follow-through bullish momentum for the second straight session.

The pair has now gained in excess of 200-pips over the past 24-hours, with some fresh technical buying above 200-hour SMA resistance further contributing towards the latest leg of uptick over the past hour or so.  

There isn’t any major market-moving economic data due for release from the UK and the US economic docket also features the second-tier release of flash Markit manufacturing and services PMI. Hence, a follow-through up-move, possibly back closer to the 1.3400 handle, now looks a distinct possibility.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is pegged near the 1.3325-30 region, above which the pair is likely to aim towards challenging the 1.3375-80 supply zone. On the flip side, the 1.3270 level now seems to protect the immediate downside, which if broken might prompt some profit-taking back towards the 1.3235 area en-route the 1.3200 round figure mark.