There will be a break sometime

The GBPUSD is higher on the day but is staying in the up and down range.

There will be a break sometime

Looking at the hourly chart above, the pair last peeked on Tuesday near corrective highs from Friday's trade at 1.3131. That move took the price above a swing area in the 1.3104 to 1.3114 area (see red numbered circles and higher yellow area) , but that break failed. The price moved down to another lower swing area at 1.3004 to 1.3012 in trading yesterday and found buyers.

Today the pair has marched higher. In the process the price moved above the 100 and 200 hour moving averages at 1.3062 at 1.3080 respectively. The last 4 trading hours has been able to stay above that 200 hour moving average (the green line).

Admittedly, as the price action moves up and down, and up and down again, the moving averages tend to see price action whip above and below. The extremes become more important.

Eventually however, there will be a break. Clues may come from those moving averages.

As a result, the intraday clue for the day will be if the 200 hour moving average can hold support. A more conservative clue would be the lower 100 hour moving average.

If the risk defining levels can hold, traders will next needs to see the price get out of its up and down ranges. The next clue would be getting above the 1.3114 level (the higher extreme of the swing area), followed by breaking the swing hi for the week at 1.3131 (and corrective high from Friday - see green numbered circles).

For now the buyers are a little more in control above the moving averages, but they do have work to do in breaking outside of the range that has confined the pair.