GBPUSD heads into the new year hobbled at 1.2700

• The Sterling’s sideways range is a nice reprieve after months of hard Brexit selling.
• 2019 promises to open with more selling as Brexit looks to remain a dramatic downside factor.

GBP/USD continues to play into the middle, firmly planted just south of the 1.2700 handle as apprehensive Cable traders see little reason to buy heading into the January Brexit gauntlet.

The Cable has been constrained below the 1.2700 zone for several weeks after Brexit ground to a halt for the holidays, but January’s upcoming action will see Pound traders continuing to get hammered, as a parliamentary no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Theresa May is expected in the coming weeks, as is a final vote on PM May’s current Brexit deal, which Mrs May pulled last-minute after it looked certain to fail.

Monday sees little action for the Cable on the economic calendar, and markets are set for the New Year’s shutdown, and the latter half of the trading week could see a fresh influx of volume as traders jostle for position in early 2019.

GBP/USD Levels to watch

Sideways action remains the key element of the Cable’s technical outlook, and as noted by FXStreet’s own Mario Blascak, PhD, technical indicators have worked themselves into middle ground as overall trend signals evaporate:

Technically, the GBP/USD is still moving sideways within a downward sloping trend while the currency pair remained capped in a one big figure trading range of 1.2660-1.2700 on a 1-hour chart. The technical oscillators including Momentum and the Relative Strength Index both dwell in the neutral territory. The Slow Stochastics made a bearish crossover just below the overbought territory. The holiday-thinned session is expected to see GBP/USD range-bound within 1.2600-1.2700.