GBP/USD off highs, still above 1.2200

The upside momentum in the British Pound lost some vigour today, now dragging GBP/USD to the 1.2220/15 band after climbing as high as the boundaries of 1.2240.

GBP/USD attention to Brexit bill

The pair gained further traction during the European morning following a renewed selling bias around the greenback, as market participants seem to be sceptical on the Fed’s ability to hike three times in 2017 as projected at the December meeting.

On the domestic front, GBP should stay focused on the House of Commons’ vote on the proposed amendments by the Upper House. In case the Commons pass the bill, the Lords are expected to deliberate later in the afternoon.

Further news from the UK cited SNP’s N.Sturgeon pushing for a second Scottish referendum (to be called around Autumn 2018), although Scottish Labour party already said it will not support it. GBP remained apathetic following the comments.

Nothing noteworthy on the data front, whereas the Fed’s Labor Conditions Index is due later (1.3 prev.).

On the positioning front, GBP stays under pressure, as speculative net shorts have climbed to the highest level since early November and Open Interest remained on the rise during the week ended on March 7 according to the latest CFTC report.

GBP/USD levels to consider

As of writing the pair is up 0.40% at 1.2219 and a breakout of 1.2240 (high Mar.13) would open the door to 1.2253 (high Mar.7) and finally 1.2302 (high Mar.6). On the other hand, the next support lines up at 1.2138 (low Mar.8) followed by 1.2036 (low Jan.11) and then 1.1979 (2017 low Jan.16).