The pound remained slightly higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as upbeat U.K. economic data continued to support demand for sterling, although uncertainty over Britain’s future in the European Union weighed.
GBP/USD hit 1.5890 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since January 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5849, adding 0.07%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5802, the day's low and resistance at 1.5936, the high of November 20.
The pound found support earlier, after official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell to the lowest level since June 2011 in December.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people claiming jobless benefit fell by 12,100 last month, compared to expectations for an increase of 100, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 7.7% from 7.8% in November.
The report came after a recent string of weak economic data fuelled fears that the U.K. economy slipped back into a recession in the fourth quarter.
Also Wednesday, the minutes of the Bank of England’s January meeting showed that some monetary policy committee members were more certain that further easing was unnecessary.
The minutes came after BoE Governor Mervyn King said Tuesday that the central bank could restart asset purchases if needed, but that they would not solve Britain's underlying growth problem.
But sentiment on sterling remained vulnerable after British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to hold a referendum on the U.K.’s European Union membership before the end of 2017, amid growing political pressure for Britain to re-negotiate its relationship with Europe.
Elsewhere, the pound was higher against the euro with EUR/GBPslipping 0.29%, to hit 0.8388.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives were to hold a vote later Wednesday to grant an almost four-month extension of the U.S. debt limit, to give Congress time to pass a federal budget.
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GBP/USD hit 1.5890 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since January 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5849, adding 0.07%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5802, the day's low and resistance at 1.5936, the high of November 20.
The pound found support earlier, after official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell to the lowest level since June 2011 in December.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people claiming jobless benefit fell by 12,100 last month, compared to expectations for an increase of 100, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 7.7% from 7.8% in November.
The report came after a recent string of weak economic data fuelled fears that the U.K. economy slipped back into a recession in the fourth quarter.
Also Wednesday, the minutes of the Bank of England’s January meeting showed that some monetary policy committee members were more certain that further easing was unnecessary.
The minutes came after BoE Governor Mervyn King said Tuesday that the central bank could restart asset purchases if needed, but that they would not solve Britain's underlying growth problem.
But sentiment on sterling remained vulnerable after British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to hold a referendum on the U.K.’s European Union membership before the end of 2017, amid growing political pressure for Britain to re-negotiate its relationship with Europe.
Elsewhere, the pound was higher against the euro with EUR/GBPslipping 0.29%, to hit 0.8388.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives were to hold a vote later Wednesday to grant an almost four-month extension of the U.S. debt limit, to give Congress time to pass a federal budget.
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