GBP/USD unfazed near 1.3770 level after May’s Brexit speech

   •  May’s much-hyped Brexit speech does little to impress bulls. 
   •  Traders largely shrugged off persistent USD selling bias.

The GBP/USD pair faded a bullish spike to an intraday high level of 1.3817 and has now retreated to the lower end of its daily trading range. 

The pair had a good two way moves through the European session on Friday amid some repositioning trade ahead of the UK PM Theresa May's Brexit speech. As the highly hyped speech got underway, the pair met with some supply but still seemed lacking any firm directional bias. 

   •  UK PM May's speech: Neither side in Brexit can get exactly what they want

May set out five principles that would govern Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the European Union and rejected claim the UK is ‘cherry-picking’, saying all trade deals are bespoken. She sounded confident that the right Brexit deal will be reached for Britain, though a 'no deal' would still be better than a 'bad deal'.

   •  UK PM May's speech: Not looking for passporting for financial services, banks

Her comments, however, failed to impress bulls and the pair continued with its range-bound price-action within a narrow trading range below the 1.3800 handle, despite persistent US Dollar selling bias.

Investors would continue to scrutinize the subsequent Q&A session for some more details and should provide some near-term directional impetus.

Technical levels to watch

Bears would be eyeing for a sustained break through mid-1.3700s, below which the pair is likely to accelerate the fall toward the 1.3700 handle before extending its near-term bearish trajectory.

On the upside, the 1.3800-10 region might continue to attract some fresh selling, which if cleared decisively should prompt a short-covering rally back towards the 1.3900 handle.