EUR/GBP retakes 0.8500 mark and beyond ahead of UK GDP

The British Pound came under renewed selling pressure, with the EUR/GBP cross building on to the momentum back above 0.8500 psychological mark to touch a fresh two-week high.

Currently trading around 0.8520, the highest level since Dec. 8, the cross extended its recovery trend for the fifth straight session on renewed concerns of 'hard Brexit' in wake of a report by 12 academics and policy researchers (via Bloomberg). 

Investors on Friday will remain focus on important UK macro data, due in a short-while from now. The final UK GDP print for third-quarter of 2016 is expected to match previous estimates and come-in to show a 0.5% q-o-q and 2.3% y-o-y growth. Market participants, however, will take cues from Q3 current account balance, which is expected to show a slight improvement, but remain elevated to show a deficit of £27.45 billion as compared to £28.68 billion recorded in the previous quarter. 

Technical levels to watch

From current levels, immediate resistance is pegged near 0.8545-50 (Dec. monthly highs), which if cleared decisively is likely to lift the cross towards 0.8578 (Nov. 30 high) en-route 0.8600 round figure mark. On the downside, 0.8500 mark now becomes immediate support below which the cross is likely to slide back below mid-0.8400s, with 0.8480-75 area providing some intermediate support.