Forex: GBP/USD hovering over 1.5315/20

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The sterling is following the rest of the risk-associated assets on Monday, trading on the back foot after the tepid data from the Chinese economy.

More than interesting week for the sterling ahead, as consumer prices are due tomorrow, followed by the BoE minutes and jobless rate on Wednesday and retail sales on Thursday.

As of writing, GBP/USD is losing 0.15% at 1.5320 facing the next support at 1.5294 (low Apr.10) followed by 1.5270 (MA10d) and then 1.5251 (low Apr.9).
On the other hand, a surpass of 1.5341 (low Apr.12) would target 1.5409 (high Apr.12) en route to 1.5412 (high Apr.11).

Apr 15, 2013

Asian markets mostly down on weaker China GDP

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite (-0.96%), Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (-1.26%) and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (-0.95%) fell on Monday with the disappointing release of China GDP data, easing from 7.9% to 7.7% (consensus of 8.0%) in Q1 (YoY), while QoQ data came in at 1.6% (consensus of 1.9%). Also, Chinese urban investment (down from 21.2% to 20.9% vs 21.3% consensus) and industrial production (down from 9.9% to 8.9% vs 10% consensus) in March didn’t help the mood, unlike China retail sales that rose from 12.3% to 12.6%, against expectations of 12.5%.

Forex: USD/JPY resumes profit taking from 99.94 high

The USD/JPY was the star of the last week, resuming the rally seen from 92.73 on the surprising monetary policy decision by the BoJ. The USD/JPY printed fresh highs and was capped at 99.94 high on Thursday, just below the 100.00 psychological level. Since then, a corrective movement is being seen and the pair eased to 97.56 low during the Asian morning. The market eventually bounced and is trading at the 98.00 ground again, still edging lower on the day.