EUR/GBP remains sideways after February European inflation figures

• EUR/GBP is currently trading at 0.8560, marking a slight daily advance in the Friday session.
• The EU HICP grew at a faster rate than expected in February,
• Attention now focuses on the decision that the ECB will make next week, and it is already a given that it will keep rates in place.

The pair EUR/GBP It is currently trading around 0.8560, registering slight gains after the release of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) of the Eurozone for February, which was higher than expected. Attention now turns to next week's European Central Bank (ECB).

Eurozone inflation data in February slightly exceeded expectations: the headline rate increased by 2.6% year-on-year, compared to the 2.5% expected, and below the 2.8% in January. The core inflation rate also exceeded forecasts, standing at 3.1% year-on-year, compared to the 2.9% expected, and below the 3.3% in January. These figures indicate that, although inflation is gradually decreasing, the decline is not linear.

Regarding expectations regarding the next ECB meetings, markets seem to point to June for the start of the easing cycle. For next week, a maintenance is expected, while the probabilities of a cut in April remain low, close to 25%. As for the Bank of England, markets delay the first cut to August, which seems to give a slight advantage to the Pound

Over the past few sessions, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has hovered around the neutral zone, suggesting a balance between buyers and sellers. The slight rise in recent days indicates incipient positive momentum for EUR/GBP, although the market has not yet chosen a definitive direction.

The flat green bars of the moving average convergence (MACD) histogram show a pause in the pair's bullish momentum, implying indecision in the market. Low volatility and market indecision when choosing a direction validate this perspective.

However, the pair remains above the 20-day SMA while below the 100-day and 200-day SMA, affirming that bears have a grip on the longer term but bulls They are ahead for the shortest term.