GBP/USD keeps the red below 1.30 mark ahead of US data

The GBP/USD pair witnessed a corrective slide on Friday and retreated around 70-pips from fresh monthly tops near 1.3030 level.

Currently trading around 1.2975 region, a few pips away from session lows near 1.2960 level touched in the last hour, the pair failed to benefit from today's in-line release of UK GDP figures that confirmed a tepid economic growth of 0.2% during the first quarter of 2017. Traders even shrugged off a better-than-expected release of UK trade balance data, with some long unwinding pressure weighing on the major.

With markets looking past the recent hawkish comment by the BOE Governor Mark Carney, a modest US Dollar recovery from multi-month lows further collaborated to the pair's retracement from the highest level since May 23.

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Meanwhile, traders also seemed inclined to take some profits off the table, especially after the pair's recent upsurge of nearly 450-pips over the past two weeks, and now look forward to the US economic docket for some fresh impetus. 

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Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near mid-1.2900s, below which the pair is likely to extend the corrective slide back towards the 1.2900 handle en-route 1.2880-75 horizontal support.

On the upside, momentum back above the key 1.30 psychological mark might continue to confront some fresh supply near yearly tops resistance near the 1.3040-50 region, which if cleared would pave way for continuation of the pair's strong up-move further towards the 1.3100 handle.