The GBP/USD dropped around 20 pips after US data but still remains above the 1.5600 area. The US trade deficit rose to $39.15 billion during July vs. 34.54 billion in the previous month, according to the Commerce Department. The release missed expectations for a deficit of $38.70 billion but did not seem to bother traders that much as it was more “noise” than of really significance from the perspective of the Fed taper question. On the other side, a few minutes earlier, after better than expected US Redbook Index data, the pair did gain a few pips hovering now around 1.5605 area. The traders are now focused on the Beige Book in terms of its implications for continued speculation surrounding the central bank’s intent to begin “tapering” QE asset purchases. If Fed adopts a hawkish tone mentioning signs of a very well-supported recovery so far, investors should consider that the notorious ‘tapering’ issue is on way. To the opposite side, if Fed adopts a soft tone, e.g. not enough content with the achieved progress in economy so far, investors should guess there is a limited scope for stimulus reduction beyond the widely expected September cutback. Emmanouel Ng, Head Analyst at OCBC BANK, suggests that “ In the near term, cable may remain on supported within a 1.5500-.15600 band.” At the time of writing the cable is trading at 1.5608, up 0.31%. The FXstreet.com Trend Index shows the pair to be strongly bearish. Daily pivot point support and resistance can be found at S3: 1.5417 S2: 1.5420 S1: 1.5356 R1:1.5527 R2:1.5565 R3:1.5604