Australian Exchange Consultation Today: The pound is neutral against the dollar, with a short-term upward trend

"Traders heading into the summer holidays are focused on the next big move, which is lower interest rates, and it looks like the market's bullish move is wrong," an analyst at Danske Bank said in a note.

The pound has been strong against the dollar compared with other currencies such as the euro and the Australian dollar, which traded at 1.2760 on Monday, up from the month's low of 1.2620.

Despite the dollar's rally against most currencies, the pair's price movements remained flat as investors reacted to important macro events in the US and UK last week.

The reading of UK data showing wages rising faster than inflation means the Bank of England's fight against inflation remains a formidable challenge. Other data showed inflation fell less than expected in July.

Therefore, the Bank of England may have more work to do to fight inflation. Analysts expect at least one rate hike at its September meeting.

Therefore, there is a possibility of another rate hike at the Federal Reserve's September meeting. This is because the US economy is still performing well even after the recent decision to raise interest rates.

The latest figures, for example, show the real estate sector performing well, with building permits and new homes on the rise, and it is unclear whether high mortgage rates, at their highest level in more than a decade, will have an impact on the sector.

US inflation is falling, helping the closely watched retail sector, which rose sharply in July and saw a rebound in industrial and manufacturing production.

"Traders heading into the summer holidays are focused on the next big move, which is lower interest rates, and it looks like the market's bullish move is wrong," an analyst at Danske Bank said in a note.

The remarks by the heads of the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve at the Jackson Hole symposium this week will have an impact on currency pairs.

Technically, GBP/USD found strong support this month at 1.2616, forming a double bottom pattern. This is an important level as it was the lowest in June. The pair is slightly above the 25 and 50 cycle moving averages.

It also formed an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern. Therefore, the outlook for the pair is upward, with the next resistance at 1.2800, followed by 1.2844 (June 16 high).

At 15:22 Beijing time, the pound was 2791/93 against the dollar.