GBP/USD Price Forecast: Stalls below 1.2700 amid dismal UK retail sales

• GBP/USD ticks up 0.15%, yet fails to decisively breach the 1.2700 resistance.
• UK retail sales hit their lowest since April, dropping -3.4% against expectations of a 0.7% rise.
• Downward pressure persists; support levels at 1.2600 and 1.2486 remain critical for near-term direction.

The Pound Sterling climbed modestly against the US Dollar on Tuesday, yet it failed to decisively clear the 1.2700 figure for the third consecutive trading day. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD trades at 1.2667, up 0.15%.

The Britail Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed that retail sales plunged to their lowest reading since April, with the index diving -3.4%, missing estimates for a 0.7% increase. According to the BRC, every retail category experienced a decline, with shopping centres seeing the sharpest drop due to a significant fall in footfall.

GBP/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The GBP/USD is downward biased despite recovering from hitting six-month low of 1.2486 on November 22. Even though the pair hit a higher high on November 29, at 1.2749, it failed to find acceptance above 1.2700.

Momentum remains bearish, as depicted by the Relative Strength Index (RSI), although the RSI aims slightly up. However, it remains below its neutral line.

On further weakness, the GBP/USD next support would be 1.2600. A breach of the latter will expose 1.2486, followed by the year-to-date (YTD) low of .12299.

Conversely, if buyers reclaim 1.2700, they could test the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 1.2818.

GBP/USD Price Chart - Daily