GBP/USD Forecast: Pound Sterling struggles to preserve bullish momentum

GBP/USD declined below 1.2800 after posting strong gains on Monday.The near-term technical outlook points to a loss of bullish momentum.Investors await April JOLTS Job Openings data from the US.GBP/USD gathered bullish momentum and reached its strongest level since mid-March above 1.2800 on Monday. The pair, however, lost its traction and declined toward 1.2750 in the European session on Tuesday.The US Dollar (USD) came under heavy selling pressure in the American session on Monday after the data showed that the ISM Manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.7 in May from 49.2 in April. This reading showed that the economic activity in the manufacturing sector continued to contract at a fastening pace. Moreover, the inflation component of the PMI survey, the Prices Paid Index, fell to 57 from 60.9.British Pound PRICE This week The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies this week. British Pound was the strongest against the Canadian Dollar. USD EUR GBP JPY CAD AUD NZD CHF USD -0.17% -0.13% -1.50% 0.47% 0.28% -0.35% -1.13% EUR 0.17% 0.07% -1.35% 0.64% 0.32% -0.18% -0.97% GBP 0.13% -0.07% -1.34% 0.57% 0.32% -0.31% -1.06% JPY 1.50% 1.35% 1.34%

1.96% 1.84% 1.30% 0.53% CAD -0.47% -0.64% -0.57% -1.96% -0.22% -0.82% -1.61% AUD -0.28% -0.32% -0.32% -1.84% 0.22% -0.51% -1.32% NZD 0.35% 0.18% 0.31% -1.30% 0.82% 0.51% -0.84% CHF 1.13% 0.97% 1.06% -0.53% 1.61% 1.32% 0.84% The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the

quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).Early Tuesday, the USD benefits from the souring market mood and forces GBP/USD to stay on the back foot. At the time of press, US stock index futures were down 0.6% on a daily basis.In the second half of the day, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish the JOLTS Job Openings data for April. Investors forecast the number of job openings to decline slightly to 8.34 million from 8.48 million in March. A soft reading at or below 8 million could weigh on the USD and help GBP/USD turn north. On the other hand, a positive surprise could cause the pair to extend its daily slide.GBP/USD Technical AnalysisThe Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator on the 4-hour chart dropped to 50, reflecting the loss of bullish momentum. GBP/USD trades in the lower half of the ascending channel and faces immediate support at 1.2750, where the 20-period and the 50-period Simple Moving Averages (SMA) are located. If the pair falls below this level, 1.2700 (lower limit of the ascending channel) could be seen as next support before 1.2680 (20-day SMA).On the upside, resistances align at 1.2800 (mid-point of the ascending channel), 1.2850 (static level) and 1.2880 (upper limit of the ascending channel).