GBP/USD. October 27, 2020 – Pound sterling recovers moderatelyThe GBP/USD pair is moderately strengthening on Tuesday, recovering from yesterday's decline to 1.2990. The current sterling quote is 1.3037.
Investors reacted positively to the news of the extension of the Brexit negotiations even before Wednesday. If earlier the UK was already ready to leave the EU without a deal, now there are hopes that an agreement between London and Brussels will still be reached by the end of December.
Experts note that the new round of negotiations, which started on October 22, is proceeding in an optimistic manner, and at the moment the parties have managed to agree on more than 90% of the controversial issues.
Today the macroeconomic calendar is almost empty. Attention can only be attracted by data on orders for durable goods in the US for September, as well as statistics on the consumer confidence index. Orders should rise by 0.1%, while the second indicator should rise from 101.8 points to 102.5 points. If the forecasts come true, the dollar will start strengthening to the area below 1.30.
GBP/USD. October 26, 2020 – Pound recovers after last week's fallGBP/USD resumed gains earlier in the week, climbing from 1.3000 to 1.3075. Last week, the pair moved mainly within the downtrend from the 1.3170 level.
All the attention of investors today is riveted to any news on Brexit. It became known over the weekend that London and Brussels have decided to extend the talks until Wednesday. Last week, the British authorities already announced their readiness to leave the EU without an agreement at all, if Brussels does not compromise. In response, the European Union stated its desire to continue negotiations and reach an agreement, but «not at any cost.»
Interesting statistics were released last Friday. Retail sales in the UK unexpectedly rose 1.6% against the forecast for growth of 0.5%. At the same time, the business activity indices in the country came out worse than forecasted: the total PMI fell from 55.7 to 52.9 points, while the activity in the manufacturing sector fell from 54.1 to 53.3 points.
Important statistics from Britain are not planned today. In the US, data on new home sales will be published in September. Sales are expected to decline from 4.8% to 2.8%, which will put pressure on the dollar in the evening hours.
EUR/USD. October 26, 2020 – The dollar strengthened to the level of 1.18The EUR/USD pair has returned to the 1.18 level again, falling from the 1.1860 area. The euro was pressured by the data on the IFO business climate index in Germany in September: the indicator came out worse than forecast, falling to 92.7 points against expectations of a reduction to 93.0. Otherwise, today the economic calendar is practically empty, and all the attention of the market will be shifted from statistics to politics.
As you know, the US presidential elections will be held on November 3. All pre-election debates have already ended and it remains only to wait for the event itself. And depending on the results, the path of the country's development and its monetary policy will be diametrically opposite. At the end of the debate, Democratic challenger Joe Biden takes the lead in the race.
In the evening hours, you should pay attention to the sales of new homes in the United States in September. Sales are expected to decline from 4.8% to 2.8%, which could somewhat halt the dollar's strengthening today.
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