GBP/USD surges through 1.42 handle, closer to over 2-week tops

   •  Defies hawkish FOMC-led resurgent USD demand.
   •  Cross-driven strength supports the strong up-move.

The GBP/USD pair quickly reversed an early European session dip to an intraday low level of 1.4145 and is now building on the momentum further beyond the 1.4200 handle.

The pair stalled overnight disappointing UK production data-led retracement slide and jumped back closer to over 2-week tops touched in the previous session, despite resurgent US Dollar demand, supported by hawkish FOMC meeting minutes. A goodish USD rebound, however, remained fragile amid growing fears of a possible military clash between the US and Russia, over a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria.

Meanwhile, the pair's strong up-move over the past hour or so lacked any obvious fundamental catalyst and could be solely attributed to some cross-driven strength stemming out of weakness in the EUR/GBP cross, which extended its sharp downfall after the latest ECB meeting minutes raised concerns over the sustainability of inflationary pressure.

Moving ahead, the usual release of weekly initial jobless claims data, the key highlight from today's relatively thin US economic docket, would now be eyed in order to grab some short-term trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is pegged near the 1.4230 region, above which the pair seems all set to surpass March high resistance near 1.4245 level and aim towards reclaiming the 1.4300 handle. On the flip side, the 1.4175-70 area now seems to protect the immediate downside, which if broken could accelerate the fall towards 1.4130-20 intermediate support en-route the 1.4100 handle.