GBP/USD technical analysis: Bearish continuation – flag chart pattern spotted on 1-hourly chart

• The GBP/USD pair gained some positive traction on Tuesday and climbed to multi-day tops, closer to the 1.2200 handle in the last hour, albeit lacked any strong follow-through. 
• Given that the pair showed some resilience near the 1.2100 handle on Monday, a sustained move above 100-hour SMA was seen as a key trigger for intraday bullish traders.

Meanwhile, the uptick over the past few trading sessions has been along a short-term ascending trend-channel formation in the 1-hourly chart. Against the backdrop of the recent slump, the mentioned channel constituted towards the formation of a bearish continuation – flag chart pattern.
 
However, technical indicators on hourly charts have just started gaining positive traction but are yet to recover from the negative territory on the daily chart, suggesting indecision over the pair’s next leg of a directional move and warrant caution before placing any aggressive bets.
 
Hence, it will be prudent to wait for a sustained breakthrough the trend-channel support, currently near the 1.2120-15 region, and a subsequent weakness below the 1.2100 mark, which will reinforce the bearish set-up and pave the way for a further near-term depreciating move.
 
In the meantime, 100-hour SMA – currently near the 1.2145 region, is likely to protect the immediate downside, while immediate strong resistance is pegged near the 1.2200 round figure mark – representing the top end of the descending trend channel.
 
A convincing breakthrough the channel resistance, leading to a follow-through move beyond 200-hour SMA – around the 1.2235 region, might negate any near-term bearish bias and set the stage for a short-covering move back towards reclaiming the 1.2300 round figure mark.

GBP/USD 1-hourly chart