Market participants are keeping a close eye on the upside potential for the pound, which has been strengthening against the U.S. dollar

Market participants are likely to keep a close eye on the upside potential of the pound, which has been strengthening against the U.S. dollar.

18.02.2025

In yesterday’s U.S. currency trading, the Canadian dollar fell against the yen after Canada’s January housing starts, released yesterday, rose slightly from 231,500 in the previous month to 239,700 but fell short of market expectations. The CAD/JPY pair fell from 107.432 to 106.662. A downtrend was observed along the 10-period moving average (MA) on the hourly chart.On the 4-hour chart, the pullback from the 200-period SMA continues, and on the daily chart, prices are falling as the 75-period MA acts as a resistance level.

Among European currencies, the pound rose against the U.S. dollar for the fourth consecutive day. The GBP/USD pair traded between 1.2569 and 1.2634. The pair rose, supported by the 20-period moving average (MA) on the hourly chart. On the 4-hour chart, the uptrend along the 10-period MA continues, and on the daily chart, the pair has broken above the 75-period MA line, which had previously acted as resistance. We will be watching price movements during U.S. trading hours to see if the pound can maintain its momentum.

Today’s schedule includes the RBA policy rate and statement at 12:30 PM (AEST), RBA Governor Block’s press conference at 1:30 PM (AEST), the UK ILO unemployment rate and employment figures, and Sweden’s CPI at 4:00 PM (AEST), Swiss industrial production at 4:30 PM (AEST), and France’sCPI, at 5:30 PM Hong Kong employment data, at 6:30 PM South African employment data and remarks by Bank of England Governor Bailey, at 7:00 PM the German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index and the Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment Index, at 10:30 PM the Canadian CPI and the U.S. New York Fed Manufacturing Index, and at midnight the U.S. NAHB Housing Price Index.We want to carefully assess the upside potential for the pound, which has been strengthening against the US dollar.