GBP/USD bears keep reins under 1.2200 with eyes on BOE’s Bailey, Fed’s Powell

• GBP/USD stays pressured around weekly low after falling the most in eight days.
• Brexit woes join, inflation/recession fears to recall bears ahead of the key events.
• US Core PCE, Final reading of Q1 GDP may entertain traders ahead of key discussions at the ECB Forum.

GBP/USD dribbles around the weekly low of 1.2180, after declining the most in over a week, as sellers take a breather ahead of the key data/events. However, pessimism surrounding Brexit, economic slowdown and inflation woes keep the downside bias intact.

Although the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) passed the first hurdle to becoming the law in the UK’s House of Commons, the Brexit protests gain momentum in Britain of late. The same exert more pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Brexit is considered the core of Conservatives’ winning recipe.

On the other hand, fears of economic slowdown and inflation renewed the US dollar demand after the greenback gauge slumped to the lowest in two weeks on Tuesday. Additionally helping the USD buyers were cautious mood ahead of today’s key penal discussion by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell, Bank of England (BOE) Governor Andrew Bailey and the European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde at the ECB Forum.

That said, the US Conference Board (CB) Consumer Confidence Index dropped for the second consecutive month in June, to 98.7 versus 100.0 expected and 103.2 in May. In doing so, the widely followed consumer sentiment gauge dropped to the lowest level since February 2021. Further details revealed that the one-year consumer inflation rate expectations climbed to 8% from May's revised print of 7.5%.

Amid these plays, the US 10-year Treasury yields snapped a two-day uptrend whereas Wall Street closed in the red.

Moving on, updates from the ECB Forum will be crucial for the GBP/USD pair. Ahead of that the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) for Q1 2022, expected to remain unchanged at 5.1%, will be important. On the same line will be the final readings of the US Q1 GDP, which is likely to confirm 1.5% Annualized contraction.

Technical analysis

A clear downside break of the two-week-old support, now resistance around 1.2305, directs GBP/USD prices towards the yearly bottom surrounding 1.1935, which is also the monthly low. During the fall, the 1.2000 psychological magnet may offer an intermediate halt.