Early in the American session, the British pound is trading around 1.2378 above the 21 SMA and within the downtrend channel formed since January 16.

US GDP data released on Thursday fueled speculation that the Fed would maintain its hawkish stance for longer. This, in turn, could put downward pressure on the GBP/USD pair. The key will be to sell and wait for the price to consolidate below 1.2365.

We can see that the British pound is consolidating below the key level of 1.2414. If GBP/USD settles above this zone in the next few hours, we could expect it to continue rising, but to do so, the instrument will have to break the bearish channel sharply and consolidate above 1.2420.

In case the British pound falls and trades below the 21 SMA located at 1.2361, there is a strong probability that it could fall and reach the bottom of the downtrend channel around 1.2250 and could even reach 6/ 8 Murray at 1.2207 and finally reach the 200 EMA located at 1.2186.

Our trading plan for the next few hours is to buy the British pound if it consolidates above 1.2370 with targets at 1.2415 and 1.2451(7/8 Murray). In case GBP/USD consolidates below the 21 SMA on the 4-hour chart, it will be a clear signal to sell with targets at 1.2250 and 1.2207 (6/8 Murray).