EUR/GBP Price Forecast: Lacks firm intraday direction, stuck in a range below one-week top

• EUR/GBP struggles to gain any meaningful traction and oscillates in a range on Thursday.
• The formation of a rectangle might still be categorized as a bearish consolidation phase.
• A convincing break below the 0.8400 round figure should pave the way for deeper losses.

The EUR/GBP cross oscillates in a narrow band through the first half of the European session and currently trades around the 0.8425-0.8430 area, just below a one-week high touched earlier this Thursday.

The British Pound (GBP) continues with its relative outperformance in the wake of expectations that the Bank of England's (BoE) rate-cutting cycle is more likely to be slower than in the Eurozone or the United States. This, in turn, is seen as a key factor acting as a headwind for the EUR/GBP cross. That said, the shared currency benefits from the emergence of some follow-through US Dollar (USD) selling, which helps limit the downside for the currency pair. 

Looking at the broader picture, the range-bound price action witnessed since last Wednesday constitutes the formation of a rectangle on the daily chart. This might be categorized as a bearish consolidation phase against the backdrop of the recent fall from a multi-month peak touched in August. Moreover, oscillators on the daily chart are holding deep in negative territory, suggesting that the path of least resistance for the EUR/GBP cross is to the downside. 

That said, a sustained strength beyond the trading range resistance near the 0.8435 region might prompt some technical buying and lift spot prices to the next relevant hurdle near the 0.8465-0.8470 area. The latter coincides with the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), which if cleared decisively might shift the near-term bias in favor of bullish traders. The EUR/GBP cross might then aim to reclaim the 0.8500 psychological mark and climb further to the 0.8515 resistance zone.

On the flip side, the 0.8415 area is likely to protect the immediate downside ahead of the 0.8400 mark, or over a one-month low touched on August 30. Some follow-through selling will be seen as a fresh trigger for bearish traders and expose the YTD trough, around the 0.8385-0.8380 region touched in July. Spot prices could eventually drop to the August 2022 swing low, around the 0.8410 zone en route to the 0.8400 round-figure mark.

EUR/GBP 4-hour chart