The worst performing currency this past week was sterling. The terrible tragedy in Manchester combined with concern about Brexit negotiations prevented the GBP/USD from breaking above 1.30. The currency pair rose above this level on numerous occasions only to be met by heavy selling. First quarter GDP growth was revised lower (which is rare for the U.K.) and loans for house purchases eased. While this is significant, the market is still more concerned about the country’s escalated terror alert level and the tough negotiations with the E.U. Last week started with talk that the UK could walk away from Brexit negotiations if it is forced to pay their massive exit bill of as much as $100 Billion. At the same time the EU refuses to back down from their hard negotiating stance making the path forward difficult to perceive. Prime Minister May called for elections in June and her popularity has been negatively affected by some of the recent events in the country.

Technically GBP/USD has completely broken down, marking 1.30 as the top. It is now trading below the 20-day SMA and likely to drop to 1.2700 as long as the pair remains below 1.2950.