GBP/USD now facing stiff resistance around 1.4600 handle

Of late, the GBP/USD major has turned highly volatile in wake of uncertainty surrounding the 'Brexit'. Similar has been the case on Tuesday, as the pair initially spiked to 1.4660 and dropped back below 1.4500 handle before stabilizing around the mid-point of 1.4500-1.4600 handle. 

According to the latest Times YouGov poll results, the ‘Remain’ camp has now taken a lead back by a single point. However, given the outcome of the recent polls on EU referendum that remained inclined towards the 'Leave' camp, any big up-move is likely to be restricted. Hence, market participants used the sharp up-surge to initiate fresh short positions at higher levels. 

With just over 2-weeks to go for the critical EU referendum, the pair will continue react with extreme volatility to the outcomes of various polls.

From a technical perspective, the pair has managed to hold and rebound from an important support at 100-day SMA near 1.4350 region. However, the rebound seems to have lost upside momentum and has failed to sustain above 1.4600, suggesting that the near-term corrective move could be far from over.

Technical outlook

Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet notes, "Short term, the GBP/USD pair is now bullish, as the 20 SMA keeps advancing below the current level, whilst the technical indicators have partially corrected overbought readings before resuming their advances. In the 4 hours chart, the price is well above its moving averages, whilst the technical indicators have lost upward strength well into positive territory, indicating limited upward scope at current levels."

"Support levels: 1.4560 1.4520 1.4470
Resistance levels: 1.4615 1.4660 1.4700"