Chart analysis: Lloyds Bank's next move

Lloyds Banks & GBP:USD (LSE:LLOY & FX:GBPUSD)

We've been a bit lazy in taking our monthly look at the retail banks, essentially 'cos collectively they're not doing a heck of a lot. Lloyds for instance has enjoyed a range of 2.5p during October, leaving us breathless with boredom. However...

There are early signs things are changing as moves now above 68.25p should indicate coming growth to 73p apparently. Visually, the downtrend since 2015 provides a fly in the ointment as the light blue line on the chart below is currently around 70p, and we'd suspect some folks will experience collywobbles in any near-term rises.

To be honest, it's hard to blame them due to Lloyds recent lethargic dance steps. Our secondary, above 73p, calculates at a less confident 76p, but common sense tends to promise a stutter at the 73p level given it matches the highs earlier this year.

Finally, if it gets below red (64p) on the chart for any reason, we'd be inclined to panic a bit as, while 62p makes a lot of sense, the fact the share would break such a solid uptrend could easily provoke some really sharp reversals.

FX:GBPUSD

The pairing, GBP:USD, known as "Cable", proves there's nothing more stupid than an unasked question! For years, we've cheerfully used "cable" without knowing where the term came from...

A couple of seconds with Google revealed it relates to the original transatlantic telegraph cables being used to transact exchanges between sterling and the dollar.

While this makes simplistic sense, we wonder why forex trades are not now known as "Fibs" due to the plethora of manipulation actions, along with the data now being sent by "Fibre Optics".

Anyway, GBP:USD is currently trading around $1.326 and movement near-term above $1.3273 looks capable of a fairly significant $1.331. This would present a "higher high" and indicate coming growth to a trend testing $1.3558 by the start of November.

Alistair Strang has led high-profile and "top secret" software projects since the late 1970s and won the original John Logie Baird Award for inventors and innovators. After the financial crash, he wanted to know "how it worked" with a view to mimicking existing trading formulas and predicting what was coming next. His results speak for themselves as he continually refines the methodology.

Alistair Strang is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of Interactive Investor. All correspondence is with Alistair Strang, who for these purposes is deemed a third-party supplier. Buying, selling and investing in shares is not without risk. Market and company movement will affect your performance and you may get back less than you invest. Neither Alistair Strang, Shareprice, or Interactive Investor will be responsible for any losses that may be incurred as a result of following a trading idea. 

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