Royal Mail shares price (LON: IDS) is trading sideways as the company’s feud with workers persists. In 2022, the holding company of Royal Mail was renamed to International Distribution Systems. The shares of the 500-year-old British postal service have shown a good recovery since their October low of $173.6.
Since the start of 2023, International Distribution Services (IDS) share price has gained 7%. This also relates to a corresponding bounce in UK equities. The benchmark FTSE 100 index broke above 8000 points for the first time in history. At the time of writing, the Royal Mail share price is trading at 231.7.
On Thursday, Royal Mail (LON: IDS) gained 1.34% till press time. The next level to watch is the week high of 234 GBX. FTSE 100 index remained sideways after breaking below 8000 earlier this week.
When Is Royal Mail Strike?
According to the most recent Royal Mail update, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) intends to continue strikes. In a recent poll that had a 77% turnout, 95.9% Royal Mail workers voted for renewed strikes. The new mandate comes after the February strike had to be called off due to legal issues and an error in the notification.
The CWU already orchestrated walkouts and strikes in 2022. These Royal Mail strikes occurred during August, September, and the holiday season of last year. In other news, International Distribution System (LON: IDS) has resumed its international deliveries after it fell victim to a ransomware cyber-attack. The Russian hackers sought $80 million, which was denied by the British postal giant.
Royal Mail Share Price Forecast
Performing basic technical analysis on the International Distribution Systems stock chart suggests bears are still in business. Despite a strong rebound from last year lows, the higher timeframe is still bearish. This is because the price has failed to reclaim the 200 moving average on the daily chart. This currently lies 6% above the current price at 246p.
In the coming days, I expect a retest of 200 MA on daily chart which should be watched closely. For a bullish outlook, Royal Mail share price needs to flip 200-day MA into support. Considering the current state of the market, this seems unlikely in near future.
The good news for the bulls is that the price is still maintaining the local uptrend that started in October 2022. It has also broken out of the symmetrical wedge giving bulls some hope.
