The British pound rose against the Swiss franc in early Asian session on Tuesday against the backdrop of positive data on retail sales and UK housing market. Technical charts indicate that the growth of the pound may gain traction and a couple of pound / franc strengthened to 1.4511 and possibly up to 1.4598 in the coming days.The British Retail Consortium / British Retail Consortium, BRC / reported Tuesday that retail sales in the UK in April rose at the fastest pace in five years. It reported a comparable retail sales rose 5.2% in April against the backdrop of the fact that Easter, the royal wedding and warm weather gave retailers a much-needed momentum after a failed March.
Meanwhile, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors / RICS /, activity in the UK housing market rose slightly in April. The index of housing prices in the UK, which is determined by subtracting the percentage of respondents reported an increase in housing prices in the last three months, the proportion of those who reported falls in April rose to -21 vs. -23 in March.
Couple pound / franc rose to 1.4324 from 1.4294 after the data release. As at 02.58 GMT, it was trading at 1.4310.
Short-term technical outlook for the pair have become more positive since the end formation of bovine figures "hammer" on the candle chart, as well as the bullish key reversal pattern after a Thursday was a record minimum of 1.4101.
Slow Stochastics on the daily chart grows with oversold, pointing to the increasing upward pressure on the pound.
Negative bars histogram indicator of convergence / divergence of sliding averages / MACD / reduced, pointing to the increasing upside risks to a pair of pound / franc.
In the coming days it can grow to the level of 1.4511, which is a Fibonacci retracement level at 38.2% of wave decline from a peak on April 6 1.5173 1.4101 Thursday to a minimum.
In case of further growth of the pair aim at a maximum reaction 27 April 1.4598.
However, short-term positive prospects for the pair will be rejected if the following global session, it closes below 1.4101.
