For the British pound sterling (Currency:GBP) the centre of attention on the fundamental front today is housing finance data from the BBA. However, in the absence of any other major data events we will continue to focus heavily on technical viewpoints regarding GBP as this will be the same approach deployed by those trading the UK currency.

Highlights:

@9:30: Mortgage data below expectations
@10:44: Royal baby boost for GBP??

16:30: GBP on Wednesday - GBP-NZD and GBP-AUD should provide all the fun

Wednesday has little data out of the UK save for CBI Industrial Trends Survey at 11AM. Analysts expect a reading of -12, better than last month's -18.

The big action for currency markets will however be seen against the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar.

At 2:30 we get Australian inflation data, analysts are expecting a reading of 2.5 pct. With uncertainty surrounding interest rate decisions at the RBA this should be an important release.

And at 22:10 we have the New Zealand interest rate decision. A rate cut will likely send the NZ dollar lower.

15:25: Pound euro exchange rate declines as EZ consumer confidence isn't as rubbish as expected

After a flat day's trade thus far the pound euro exchange rate has now slipped by 0.15 pct to reach 1.1634.

The boost for the euro comes as Eurozone consumers are shown to be less pessimistic than everyone thought they were.

It is just this kind of fluffy data that is required to get things started in a landscape devoid of anything meaningful for markets to get their teeth into.

The reading came in at -17.4, better than expectations for -18.3. Better than last month at -18.8.

15:17: Euro pound exchange rate forecast to register strong declines over the course of next 18 months

Bank of America Merrill Lynch have today told clients that the British pound will maintain the upper hand versus the euro over the next year and a half.

Exchange rate forecasts from BofA show the euro pound exchange rate is likely to be at 0.83 (GBP-EUR at 1.20) at the end of December 2013. The rate declines to 0.81 (GBP-EUR 1.23) come June 2014 with further declines to 0.80 (GBP-EUR 1.25) by the end of 2014 being registered.

See the forecast table here.

13:00: UK export activity shoots higher

Some UK data of lesser importance, but encouraging nevertheless:

UK export activity has reached levels not seen since the financial crisis, according to a report from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

Its trade index rose to 118.12 in the second quarter, up 2.9% on the same period last year.

The index is based on export documents issued to businesses by the BCC. Export orders for service firms hit a record, 42% of manufacturing firms reported higher export sales, 31% of firms expect to increase staff this year.

12:46: Good news for manufacturing sector courtesy of Bentley

The UK automobile sector remains a bedrock for the manufacturing component of the economy. We have some news that will prove supportive in coming months:

Bentley Motors today announced it will proceed with the development of a Bentley SUV with the creation of 1,000 new jobs. The SUV will go on sale in 2016 and will result in £800m of investment over the next three years. More on this from the Independent.

10:44: Baby boom for sterling

We take a step back from focusing on the hourly charts and see the sterling remains well placed, some like to attribute this performance to the arrival of the royal baby.

Mark Deans at MoneyCorp sums up recent performances by the British pound:

"After a brief hiccup in the Far East, where the Duchess of Cambridge was wrongly associated with Labour, the pound moved ahead.  Between six in the morning, when the happy event began to unfold, and twenty to nine, when confirmation of the birth was announced, the pound strengthened by one US cent and half a euro cent.  

"Sterling also received some help from the prime minister's comment that the improving UK economy might allow the government to reduce taxes.  On the day the pound is ahead against all but the New Zealand dollar and the Swedish krona.  Its gains against the Aussie dollar, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen might only be visible with a magnifying glass but a quarter of a euro cent and nearly a full US cent are not to be sniffed at."

9:30: BBA data below expectations

United Kingdom BBA Mortgage Approvals rises to 37.3K in June from 36.1K. Analysts were looking for 38.5.

So this is a miss, but GBP appears to be immune to the outcome for now.

8:35: BBA mortgage data ahead

Lloyds Bank Research ahead of today's BBA data:

"UK attention will be focussed on the release of BBA mortgage approvals data for June. Approvals have picked up over the last year and rose to 36.1k in May, from 32.9k in the previous month. In the light of an ongoing recovery in house prices and Bank of England data pointing to an improved supply of secured credit, approvals are expected to register a further rise to 38.3k."

8:30: GBP flat ahead of today's data

The pound to euro exchange rate is 0.03 pct down on Monday night's closing rate at 1.1646.
The pound to US dollar exchange rate is 0.09 pct higher at 1.5374.
The pound to Australian dollar exchange rate is 0.14 pct lower 1.6588.
The pound to Swiss Franc is flat at 1.4381.

Please note that the above quotes are taken from the spot markets to which your bank will charge their own discretionary spread. An independent FX provider will however guarantee to undercut your banks offer, thus delivering you more currency. Please learn more.

8:25: Short term technical forecasts favour the British pound

We take a look at the charts to ascertain where sterling is liable to go in the coming hours.

Trading Central give the following forecasts:

GBP-USD: "LONG positions above 1.5295 with 1.54 & 1.543 in sight. Alternative scenario: The downside penetration of 1.5295 will call for a slide towards 1.5265 & 1.5235. The pair is supported by a rising trend line."

EUR-GBP: "SHORT positions below 0.8615 with targets @ 0.8575 & 0.8555. The pair is trading in a bearish channel."

GBP-AUD: "as long as 1.656 is support look for 1.67. The RSI is above its neutrality area at 50. The MACD is positive and below its signal line. The pair could retrace. Moreover, the pair is trading above both its 20 and 50 MAs (respectively at 1.6601 and 1.6514)."

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