The British pound may strengthen to a three-week high of $1.45 against the dollar, BNP Paribas SA said, citing trading patterns. The $1.45 level represents so-called resistance on a descending trend line connecting the January high of $1.5373 and the February peak of $1.4986, according to a chart from BNP, France’s largest bank. Resistance refers to a level where sell orders may be clustered. “The next point on the upside is at $1.45,” Claude Mattern, a technical analyst at BNP Paribas in Paris, wrote in a note sent to clients today. “The currency pair remains poised within a narrow range, and is seen doing a new attempt to reverse on the upside.” The pound traded at $1.4273 as of 9:20 a.m. in London from $1.4275 late in New York yesterday. It earlier reached $1.4336, the strongest since March 2. The $1.45 level was last reached on Feb. 25, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The daily indicators remain supportive” for the pound, Mattern wrote. Daily charts such as moving average convergence/divergence are showing a buy signal, according to Bloomberg data. MACD charts can indicate whether a price shift is a change in trend or a short-term deviation by comparing moving averages based on 9-, 12- and 26-day periods. In technical analysis, investors and analysts study charts of trading patterns and prices to forecast changes in a security, commodity or currency.

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