Dollar / pound sterling exchange Rates: Are we about to open the door on a fresh GBP/USD rally?

The pound dollar exchange rate is trading 0.12 pct higher than seen at last night's closing level; at 14:45 in London we see the GBP/USD is quoted at 1.6170. After a slow start to the week, and after an uneventful Bank of England MPC meeting minutes release. we see GBP is now building a head of steam.

Be Aware that all quotes here are taken from the inter-bank markets. Your bank will levy a discretionary spread when delivering you forex. However, an independent currency specialist will seek to undercut your bank's offer, thus delivering up to 5% more FX. Please learn more here.

Matt Weller at GFT believes we could be about to witness the doors being opened on an extension of the pound dollar rate rally:

"The GBP/USD continued to grind higher over the last 24 hours. As we go to press, the pair is peeking out to a new 3-week high above 1.6140, and if this breakout is confirmed, it would open the door for a continuation rally up toward the 1.6200 round handle and previous resistance at 1.6250 next. The recent Piercing Candle on the 4hr chart confirms the choppy uptrend, so more aggressive traders may want to consider buy opportunities on the GBP/USD during today’s North American trading session."

Gareth Berry at UBS confirms these are important levels for GBP/USD:

"Initial support is at 1.6037, a break below this level would extend the weakness to 1.5967. Resistance is at 1.6149 ahead of the critical 1.6260."

Roboforex reckon that an extension of the rally towards 1.63 is on the cards:

"The pound is still moving inside consolidation channel; trading range looks like triangle pattern. We think, today price may form another descending structure towards pattern’s lower border and then start new ascending movement to break upper one and continue growing up towards 1.6300."

US retail sales drive the agenda

The big data event of the day has just passed - the dollar is mixed in afternoon European trade after it was shown that sales at U.S. retailers were somewhat stronger than expected in October despite the government shutdown, as consumers took advantage of good auto deals and spent more on clothes, electronics and hobbies.

Retail sales climbed by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month or by 0.2% excluding the large auto sector, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected sales to be flat, with a 0.2% increase in sales minus autos.