GBPUSD has been trading in an upward channel since late-September 2020. The pair has looked past recent USD strengthening and continued to gain. A break above the upper limit of the channel occurred yesterday and today the pair is testing 1.40 handle for the first time since April 2020. The 1.40 area is additionally strengthened by the 161.8% exterior retracement of the downward move from August-September 2020. Solid set of February's PMIs from the United Kingdom is boosting sentiment towards the British pound. Manufacturing gauge moved from 54.1 to 54.9 (exp. 53.1) while services index jumped from 39.5 to 49.7 (exp. 42.0). Reading stands in contrast to German and French readings that showed services sector gauge drop more than expected.
GBPUSD tests 1.40 area, boosted by solid PMI release. Source: xStation5
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