GBP/USD rises to 1.2920 as UK PM May again heads for Brussels

• GBP/USD trades around 1.2920 ahead of London open on Monday.
• Expectations surrounding soft Brexit and upbeat UK retail sales recently pushed the pair upwards.
• The 1.2930 and 1.2980 can act as immediate resistances with 1.2840 likely being nearby rest.

The GBP/USD pair rose to the day’s high of 1.2920 heading towards European sessions on Monday. Speculations that the UK Prime Minister Theresa May could convince EU over favorable or delayed departure pleased the British Pound (GBP) traders off-late. PM May heads to Brussels on Monday in order to hold talks with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

On Friday, news that Irish foreign minister has struck a conciliatory tone helped built initial GBP trade sentiments. The up move was then backed by better than forecast +0.2% growth of the UK Retail Sales m/m to 1.1%.

However, a recent report from Reuters said that France isn’t likely to offer concessions on the Irish backstop to end the stalemate over the Brexit negotiations as notified earlier by the UK Times report.

With nearly six weeks to leave the EU, the UK PM May is struggling to keep her plan on the table after witnessing another parliament defeat last week. She has already promised to try till February 26 to get a favorable trade deal from the EU and update her progress in the parliament while British policymakers could get the control from February 27 onward.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has been tough on Brexit and might not relinquish his control over the Irish backstop, which in turn could negatively affect the present optimism. Though, actual updates from the meeting can only confirm the proceedings.

GBP/USD Technical Analysis

Given the break of 1.2915, the GBP/USD pair needs to surpass the 1.2930 in order to aim for 1.2980 and 1.3000 resistances.

Failure to hold recent recovery can drag the quote back to 1.2840 and 1.2780 support levels.