Global macro overview for 28/12/2016:
According to the British Bankers' Association (BBA), a number of approved mortgages in the UK declined to 40.7K in the previous month. This number is worse than expected figure of 41.6K and lower than the last month's figure of 40.8K. This data comprises more than a half of the total U.K. mortgage market and it provides information about buyers' activity in the UK housing market. As we can see, currently activity in the housing market is declining. The biggest UK mortgage lender, Halifax Bank, anticipates that house prices will continue to rise in 2017, but at a much slower rate. The annual pace of growth would be running at between 1% and 4% by the end of the year, versus an average of 10% recorded in March 2016. In conclusion, the UK housing market should remain steady during the next year and no major house bubble is anticipated yet.
Let's now take a look at the GBP/USD technical picture on the 4H time frame. Bears have managed to break out below the short-term dashed black trend line and now they are in control over this market. The next support is seen at the level of 1.2080.
