GBP/USD hits fresh 6-week lows, below 1.39 handle ahead of UK GDP

   •  Carney’s dovish outlook continues to take toll off GBP.
   •  Persistent USD demand also contributes towards capping gains.
   •  UK/US GDP figures & Carney’s speech eyed for fresh impetus.
 
After an initial uptick, the GBP/USD pair met with some fresh supply and has now slipped back below the 1.3900 handle ahead of the UK GDP. 

The British Pound continues to be weighed down by last week's dovish surprise by the BOE Governor Mark Carney, hinting that interest rates might not go up next month, and the recent disappointing UK economic data.

This coupled with persistent USD buying interest, with the key US Dollar Index standing tall near a 3-1/2-month high, despite a modest retracement in the US Treasury bond yields, kept a lid on any meaningful recovery for the major.

Moreover, bulls also seemed reluctant to place any fresh bets and preferred to wait for the release of the preliminary UK growth figures, expected to rise 0.4% during the first quarter of 2018 and 1.4% y-o-y. 

Later during the NA session, the advance US Q1 GDP print and BOE Governor Mark Carney's scheduled speech should now act as key determinants of the sentiment surrounding the pair until next MPC meeting on May 10. 

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near 1.3850-45 area, below which the pair is likely to extend the downfall further towards the 1.3800 handle. On the flip side, 1.3930 level now seems to have emerged as an immediate resistance, which if cleared might trigger a short-covering bounce back towards the key 1.40 psychological mark.