In the early morning of Friday (May 17) Beijing time, EUR/USD recovered slightly to around 1.0873 after hitting a low of 1.0854. GBP/USD recovered slightly to around 1.2674 after hitting a low of 1.2642.
EUR/USD technical analysis
(EUR/USD daily chart source: eHuitong)
EUR/USD was held back on Thursday and failed to continue its upward move after the previous trading day's bullish breakout. The exchange rate retreated slightly but stabilized above 1.0865. The bulls must ensure that the price stays above this threshold to ward off potential sellers' rebound; failure to do so may trigger a retracement of the exchange rate to 1.0810 - 1.0800.
On the other hand, if buying momentum is restored, the upper resistance may be around 1.0980, which is an important technical resistance level determined by the March swing high. In the event of further strengthening, buyers may launch an attack on 1.1020 in the short term, which is a dynamic trend line extending from the 2023 peak.
GBP/USD technical analysis
(GBP/USD daily chart source: eHuitong)
Following strong performance earlier in the week, GBP/USD was slightly lower on Thursday, and buyers paused their breathing after the recent rally to assess the outlook. If the bullish momentum is restored, the resistance level will be at 1.2720, which is the 61.8% Fibonacci level of sell-off in 2023. Other than that, the 1.2800 mark is likely to be the focus.
Conversely, if the upward pressure disappears and causes a meaningful bearish reversal, the coincident support extension from 1.2615 to 1.2590 can provide stability and prevent a deeper contraction. However, once it is broken, attention will turn to the 200-day simple moving average, which is currently around 1.2540. A further decline below this point could cause the pair to move towards 1.2515.
At 00:44 Beijing time on Friday, EUR/USD reported 1.0873, a decrease of 0.09%. GBP/USD declined 0.09% to 1.2674/75.