GBPUSD W Formation: Forex Chart Markups, 11 May 2026

A GBPUSD W formation on Wednesday 13 May 2026 stacked 7 of 8 confirmations: a second-leg stop hunt at the New York open, in the same candle as US producer prices at 08:30, on the day the method expects the trap. It still only paid 45 pips before Thursday traded back through the low. This quiet week produced 2 textbook setups, 4 partials and two weekly cycles, on gold and AUDUSD.

The week in brief

Markets: the seven forex majors and gold (XAUUSD, counted at 1 pip = $1), on 15-minute and 1-hour candles.
Daily setups: 2 textbook and 4 partial.
Weekly cycle: 2 of 8 markets turned midweek (AUDUSD and XAUUSD).
Setup of the week: GBPUSD on Wednesday, W formation, 7 of 8 on confluence: 45 pips that day, 48 on the week.
News in sync with a stop hunt: USD Producer Price Index ex Food & Energy (YoY).

GBPUSD W formation: how to read these chart markups

A quick key for new readers. These charts use reverse price action, which is reverse psychology applied to the chart: the textbook breakout is treated as the trap, not the trade. The Asian range (blue box) is where retail marks support and resistance. The retail stop losses (red crosses) rest just beyond it. The stop hunt (hatched zone) is price collecting them, and the pips figure in the header is the reversal that followed. Start with How to Read a Forex Chart Markup.

The week at a glance: confluence ranking

Every daily setup of the week on one page, best first. The score is a tally of the eight confirmations the method lists, and the last column says what the rest of the week did with each level. GBPUSD leads with 7 of 8.

The weekly cycle: induction, trap, reversal

The weekly cycle is the bigger picture behind every daily setup: an induction trend early in the week, the high or low of the week on Tuesday or Wednesday, then the reversal. We only draw it when the week actually turned, and each chart carries a checklist of which parts held. The idea is laid out in How to Read a Forex Chart Markup.

Gold (XAUUSD) · 262-pip reversal. The trap printed the high of the week at 4773.34 in Tuesday's session (Monday 20:15 New York), and the reversal ran 262 pips to 4511.22 by Friday. 4 of 4 textbook checks held.

AUDUSD · 132-pip reversal. The trap printed the high of the week at 0.72713 on Wednesday 11:30 New York, and the reversal ran 132 pips to 0.71394 by Friday. 3 of 4 textbook checks held; the miss: no induction trend, Sun to Tue ranged instead of trending.

No weekly cycle chart for EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, USDCHF, USDCAD and NZDUSD: those markets did not make a midweek high or low and then reverse by at least 1.25 average daily ranges.

Setup of the week: GBPUSD W formation, 13 May 2026

GBPUSD spent the Asian session in a 28-pip range between 1.35232 and 1.35511. London then broke the low of that range by 29 pips, to 1.34943 at 06:00 New York, taking Tuesday's low (1.35001) on the way: the breakdown the crowd sells. Price pulled back to a neckline at 1.35212, then ran a second leg to 1.34841 at 08:30 New York, 10 pips past the first leg. That second leg is the stop hunt. It took the stops resting below the first leg and trapped everyone who sold the new low. From there price reversed 45 pips to 1.35291 in 3h, back inside the Asian range.

Now read it in reverse. At each of those prices, whose orders were waiting?

Where the retail stops were

Buyers' stops below the Asian low, 1.35232: taken by the first leg.
New stops below the first leg, 1.34943: taken by the second leg.
Stops below Tuesday's low, 1.35001: taken by the first leg.
Sellers' stops above the neckline, 1.35212: taken as the reversal broke it.
Sellers' stops above the Asian high, 1.35511: not reached.

The trade. The method buys against the breakout, on the second leg at the low of the day (1.34841). The stricter trigger, the first 15-minute close back inside, came with 11 pips of risk to the extreme and 34 pips to the high of the day, about 1 to 3.1. The method skips anything under 1 to 3, so from that trigger this one qualifies. These numbers are measured after the fact from 15-minute candles.

Confirmations: 7 of 8. It had a clear Asian range, a second-leg stop hunt, a hunt at a session open, the previous day's level taken, high-impact news in sync, a Tuesday or Wednesday date and induction from the week's open. Missing: the high or low of the week. Thursday traded back through the low, by 169 pips.

The rules for this pattern are in How to Read a Forex Chart Markup. For another W formation, on USDCAD, see USDCAD W formation, week of 8 June 2026.

Textbook setups, day by day

A setup is textbook when the reversal clears the whole Asian range, or runs at least three quarters of the pair's average daily range. The daily cycle behind all of them, Asia consolidating, London breaking out and the reversal after, is covered in How to Read a Forex Chart Markup.

Thursday · Gold (XAUUSD) · London stop hunt (75 pips). London took the stops above the Asian high at 4718.57 (03:30 New York); price reversed 75 pips, through the whole Asian range. Confluence 2 of 8. The high held for the rest of the week.

Thursday · USDJPY · New York stop hunt (111 pips). New York took the stops below the Asian low at 157.307 (09:45 New York, 21 pips through Wednesday's low); price reversed 111 pips, through the whole Asian range. Confluence 3 of 8. The low held for the rest of the week.

Partial setups: the structure without the follow-through

These printed the structure, but the reversal stalled inside the Asian range. They are worth studying for exactly that reason: the trap was real and the payoff was small.

Monday · USDCAD · W formation (33 pips). The second leg took the stops below the first leg at 1.36478 (10:30 New York); price reversed 33 pips, back inside the Asian range. Confluence 4 of 8. It was the low of the week.

Tuesday · AUDUSD · London stop hunt (33 pips). London took the stops below the Asian low at 0.72085 (03:00 New York); price reversed 33 pips, back inside the Asian range. Confluence 2 of 8. Friday traded back through it.

Tuesday · USDCAD · M formation (32 pips). The second leg took the stops above the first leg at 1.37242 (11:15 New York); price reversed 32 pips, back inside the Asian range. Confluence 3 of 8. Thursday traded back through it.

Daily and weekly confluence, pair by pair

Each chart pins a pair's daily setups on its hourly chart for the week. The solid line is the move that day, the dashed line is how far it ran before the level was traded back through, and a gold band marks a weekly reversal. The table under each chart ticks the confirmations.

GBPUSD. 1 setup, best 7 of 8 (Wednesday, W off the low). No midweek reversal.

USDJPY. 1 setup, best 3 of 8 (Thursday, New York stop hunt at the low). No midweek reversal.

AUDUSD. 1 setup, best 2 of 8 (Tuesday, London stop hunt at the low).

USDCAD. 2 setups, best 4 of 8 (Monday, W off the low). No midweek reversal.

Gold (XAUUSD). 1 setup, best 2 of 8 (Thursday, London stop hunt at the high).

What this week teaches about reverse price action

Confluence is a tally, not a promise. The GBPUSD W had almost everything the method asks for, and it is filed under partial because the reversal stalled inside the Asian range. The one thing it lacked was the weekly context: it was not the low of the week, and Thursday proved it. A high score tells you the trap was well built. It does not tell you how far price goes afterwards, which is why the stop sits beyond the hunt and the risk is fixed before the trade.

On the news itself: the event gives the crowd its reason, and the chart shows where the orders already were.

Frequently asked questions

What was the best forex setup in the week of 11 May 2026?

By confluence, GBPUSD on Wednesday: a W off the low that scored 7 of 8. It moved 45 pips that day and 48 on the week. Thursday traded back through it.

Was there a midweek reversal in the week of 11 May 2026?

Yes, on 2 of the 8 markets we track: AUDUSD and Gold (XAUUSD). The largest was Gold (XAUUSD), 262 pips from the high of the week at 4773.34.

What is a W formation in forex?

A W formation is the mirror image of an M, at a low. Price breaks below the Asian range, bounces to a neckline, then makes a second leg slightly under the first low. The second leg takes the stops under the first low and traps breakdown sellers. The method only trades a W off the low of the day.

Why do stop hunts happen on news releases?

A scheduled release brings the most orders into the market at a known minute. Price is often already sitting next to a level with stops behind it, and the release supplies the volume to take them. The timing of the event matters more than the number.

Related chart markups

Previous week: Forex weekly cycle, week of 4 May 2026
Next week: EURUSD W formation, week of 18 May 2026
USDCAD W formation, week of 8 June 2026: another W formation, on USDCAD
GBPUSD midweek reversal, week of 6 July 2026: the same W formation on GBPUSD
USDJPY W formation, week of 13 July 2026: another W formation, on USDJPY
All forex chart markups, week by week
How to Read a Forex Chart Markup: what every mark on these charts means

Learn to read the chart this way. The Forexia Academy courses cover the Asian range, M and W formations and the weekly cycle step by step. Browse the courses.

These chart markups are made after the fact, for study. They are not signals and not trade advice. Candles: Dukascopy. Economic calendar: FXStreet. All times are New York. Stop-loss positions are the method's reading of the structure, not order-book data.