- The pound rose to a more than one-year peak against the dollar on Monday, trading as high as $1.2668
- The pound is in focus this week ahead of an anticipated Bank of England rate increase on Thursday
On Monday, the dollar continued to show weakness against most of its major counterparts as traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s acknowledgement of the end of its hiking cycle, while also hedging against the risk of a potential recession. Traders are also keeping an eye on the debt ceiling impasse in Capitol Hill, with the Treasury Secretary warning of possible inability to pay debts by June 1. On Wednesday, U.S. inflation data is expected to indicate whether the Fed needs to take further steps to control inflation.
The pound rose to a more than one-year peak against the dollar on Monday, trading as high as $1.2668, its highest level since April 2022, before slipping slightly below that to $1.2616. The pound is in focus this week ahead of an anticipated Bank of England rate increase on Thursday, expected by many to raise the base rate to 4.5% after voting 7-2 in March to increase it from 4% to 4.25%.
On the 4-hour chart, the price is above the 30-SMA for now, and the RSI is above 50 (although weakening). The price paused at the 1.2650 resistance level after a strong upward movement and is maybe reversing now, with resistance turned support (1.2075) the target to keep an eye on next to the downside. Negative developments with any of the concerns affecting the US or BOE’s rate hike will put 1.2650 and 1.2700 in the crosshairs to the upside if the price begins to consolidate where it is now until Thursday.