GBP/USD clings to gains near 1.3480, Yellen eyed

The Sterling is posting moderate gains vs. the greenback on Tuesday, now taking GBP/USD to the 1.3480/75 band ahead of the opening bell in Europe.

GBP/USD focus on Yellen, Brexit

After two consecutive sessions in the red territory, Cable is now looking to stabilize below the 1.3500 handle amidst a renewed pick up in the demand for the US Dollar and uncertainty around Brexit.

In fact, another round of Brexit talks started on Monday, although the Brexit Secretary D.Davis and the EU’s chief negotiator M.Barnier so far failed to make any significant progress following PM T.May’s speech in Florence last week.

Regarding the greenback, the US Dollar Index is advancing for the second session in a row today, navigating the area of multi-day tops around 92.70 and focused on the upcoming speech by Chief J.Yellen.

Nothing relevant data wise in the UK today, whereas speeches by Chief J.Yellen, Cleveland Fed L.Mester (2018 voter, hawkish), FOMC’s L.Brainard (permanent voter, dovish) and Atlanta Fed R.Bostic (2018 voter) should keep the attention on USD.

Further data across the pond should see August’s new home sales and the consumer confidence gauge by the Conference Board for the current month.

GBP/USD levels to consider

As of writing the pair is up 0.04% at 1.3472 and a break above 1.3571 (high Sep.25) would aim for 1.3616 (2014-2017 downtrend) and finally 1.3658 (2017 high Sep.20). On the flip side, the immediate support lines up at 1.3432 (low Sep.20) seconded by 1.3381 (low Sep.15) and then 1.3262 (23.6% Fibo of the 2017 up move).