Forex: GBP/USD holding above 1.6200 as Europe approaches

FXstreet.com (San Francisco) - GBPUSD fell back toward the 1.6200 figure in Asia, extending its retreat from the roof set overnight at 1.6337, a 17-month high. Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXstreet.com says the upside will remain favored as long as price holds above 1.6175, with scope for a retest of mentioned high. GBPUSD now stands at 1.6220, and, should price slip below mentioned support, the analyst identifies another level of potential buying interest at 1.6140. Above the overnight peak, sellers may find the 1.6380 level of interest.

Fundamentally speaking, there is UK house prices and UK PMI Construction figures on offer today in the European session ahead. The Nationwide Housing Prices are expected to show that the value of houses prices fell 0.9% (YoY) in December, following the 1.2% decline in the previous month. Markit economics is expected to report that business conditions in the UK construction sector remained in contraction at 49.5 in December. However, Germany's unemployment data will be highlighted event risk for the session.