GBP/USD moves little post-US GDP, keeps the red just below 1.3100 handle

   “¢   Advance US Q2 GDP growth matches consensus estimates.
   “¢   Market reaction turns out to be rather muted.  

The GBP/USD pair managed to bounce off lows, albeit held on to its daily trading range following the release of US GDP print.  

The pair stalled overnight retracement slide from levels beyond the 1.3200 handle and found some support at lower levels after the advance US GDP report showed that the US economy expanded at an annualized pace of 4.1% during the second quarter of 2018.

Although the headline reading was better than 2.0% growth recorded in the previous quarter, it wasn’t enough to provide any meaningful lift to the US Dollar and helped the pair to rebound from an intraday low level of 1.3082.

The data, however,  cemented expectations for a gradual Fed rate hike through the end of this year and thus, did little to prompt any aggressive USD selling. Moreover, investors also seemed to refrain from placing aggressive bets ahead of the highly anticipated BoE monetary policy update next week.  

Technical levels to watch

Weakness below 1.3075 level (weekly lows) is likely to accelerate the fall back towards the key 1.30 psychological mark before the pair eventually drops to YTD lows, around the 1.2960-55 region.

On the flip side, the 1.3120-30 region now seems to have emerged as an immediate hurdle, above which a bout of short-covering could lift the pair back towards reclaiming the 1.3200 round figure mark.