GBP/USD Outlook Turns Bearish as Powell Appears Cautious at J. Hole

• GBP/SD gains after Powell’s speech left some clues about cautiousness for tapering.
• US Core PCE data could not impress the Dollar bulls.
• Technically, the pair is supported by key SMAs.

The GBP/USD pair has gained a positive outlook on Friday. The much-awaited Jackson Hole Symposium and Powell’s speech helped the bulls.

The GBP/USD pair is trading at 1.3763, up 0.47% on the day during the New York session on Friday.

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The British Pound started positively on the day despite kicking off below the 1.3700 mark. The pair remained in a narrow range, providing no clear direction. However, the price started rising just before Powell’s speech. The Sterling posts fresh weekly highs.

Powell’s speech

According to Jerome Powell, the US Federal Reserve is well-positioned to respond to the economic outlook, saying he and his counterparts expect to slow down asset purchases by the end of the year. Nonetheless, he appeared cautious about removing irritants.

An untimely policy move will unnecessarily slow hiring and other economic activity and drop inflation below desired, Powell noted. Today, with a significant labor gap and an ongoing pandemic, such a mistake could be devastating.

This could indicate Powell is not on the same schedule as other Fed officials pushing for the cancellation of asset purchases, delaying the start of the phase-out process.

US Core PCE data

The US Core PCE data came earlier during the session. The figures came at 0.3% that matched the expectations, while the previous reading was 0.5%. All other variables were upbeat except personal spending that came at -0.3%.

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GBP/USD price technical outlook: Key SMAs to support upside

The GBP/USD pair found traction, gaining weekly highs, testing the upper ban of descending trend channel. Further on the upside, the price may find resistance at 200-period SMA on the 4-hour chart 1.3800.

On the downside, the pair may find support at 1.3730 area (congestion of 20 and 50 SMAs) ahead of the 1.3700 mark.

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