GBP/USD consolidates in a range ahead of May’s Brexit speech

The GBP/USD pair struggled for a firm direction and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses, with investors keenly awaiting the UK PM May's Brexit speech.

The pair touched an intraday high level of 1.3596 amid some renewed US Dollar selling bias, triggered by resurfacing geopolitical tension stemming out of the Korean peninsula. The pair subsequently retreated to 1.3537 as traders seemed reluctant to place aggressive bets.

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Meanwhile, the pair has now recovered back to the 1.3560-65 region ahead of the highly anticipated UK Prime Minister Theresa May's upcoming speech in Florence, Italy. May's remarks would be closely scrutinized for some Brexit clarity, which might eventually provide fresh impetus to the major. 

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"EU's officers comments post-May speech will set the tone for the Pound, as it doesn't matter what May says, but how EU officers like it, or not" notes Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet. 

Technical levels to watch

Valeria writes: "The immediate resistance comes at 1.3600/10, followed by the mentioned high at 1.3653. Beyond this last, the rally can extend up to the 1.3700 figure. To the downside, 1.3540 is the immediate support ahead of 1.3500, followed by the weekly low of 1.3451."