GBP/USD turns flat near 1.3370 as trading volume thins out ahead of holidays

• GBP/USD trades in a 50-pip range on Thursday.
• DXY moves sideways below 93 following macro data releases from the U.S.
• Choppy price action likely to continue.

The GBP/USD pair dropped to a daily low of 1.3333 in the early NA session before recovering its daily losses and turning flat near 1.3370.

According to the data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the third estimate of the GDP growth in the U.S. eased to 3.2% in the third quarter from 3.3% and came in below the market estimate of 3.3%. Although the US Dollar Index edged lower below the 93 mark following that data, the bearish pressure failed to build up as other data suggested that the economic activity in the U.S. remained healthy. Both the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index surpassed the expectations. At the moment, the DXY is down only 0.05% at 92.90.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar will feature third quarter GDP and current account data from the U.K. ahead of the core-PCE price index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, from the U.S. Unless there is a significant discrepancy between the actual numbers and markets' expectations, the market reaction is likely to remain subdued ahead of the Christmas break.

Technical outlook

Valeria Bednarik, American Chief Analyst at FXStreet, writes, "technically, the neutral stance prevails according to readings in the 4 hours chart, as the pair remains below a horizontal 20 SMA, while technical indicators keep hovering around their mid-lines, lacking directional strength. The pair remains inside a descendant channel, which roof converges this Friday with the daily high of 1.3386, making of the level the immediate resistance for the upcoming sessions, although the pair will need to surpass the 1.3420 price zone, to actually gain potential upward, with scope then to extend up to 1.3465 December 14th daily high."