Investing.com - The pound fell to one-week lows against the dollar on Tuesday amid speculation over a possible merger between Vodafone and German firm Kable Deutschland.
GBP/USD hit 1.5600 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since June 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5622, shedding 0.62%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5519, the low of June 11 and resistance at 1.5722, the session high.
Earlier Tuesday, official data showed that consumer inflation in the U.K. rose more than expected in May.
The Office for National Statistics said the rate of consumer price inflation accelerated 2.7% in May, above expectations for a 2.6% increase and up from a seven month low of 2.4% in April.
The ONS said the rise was due to higher costs for air fares, motor fuel, clothing and footwear.
Core CPI, which excludes energy, food and tobacco costs, rose 2.2% up from 2% in April.
Consumer prices rose 0.2% from a month earlier, compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase, after rising 0.2% in April.
Investors were looking ahead to outcome of the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday amid uncertainty over the bank’s next move after Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
The U.S. was to release official data on consumer inflation, building permits and housing starts later in the trading day.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP advancing 0.70% to 0.8561.
The euro was boosted after a report showed that the ZEW index of German economic sentiment rose to 38.5 in June from May’s reading of 36.4. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 38.1.
The report said the German economy is likely to slowly pick up speed in the second half of this year.
GBP/USD hit 1.5600 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since June 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5622, shedding 0.62%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5519, the low of June 11 and resistance at 1.5722, the session high.
Earlier Tuesday, official data showed that consumer inflation in the U.K. rose more than expected in May.
The Office for National Statistics said the rate of consumer price inflation accelerated 2.7% in May, above expectations for a 2.6% increase and up from a seven month low of 2.4% in April.
The ONS said the rise was due to higher costs for air fares, motor fuel, clothing and footwear.
Core CPI, which excludes energy, food and tobacco costs, rose 2.2% up from 2% in April.
Consumer prices rose 0.2% from a month earlier, compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase, after rising 0.2% in April.
Investors were looking ahead to outcome of the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday amid uncertainty over the bank’s next move after Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
The U.S. was to release official data on consumer inflation, building permits and housing starts later in the trading day.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP advancing 0.70% to 0.8561.
The euro was boosted after a report showed that the ZEW index of German economic sentiment rose to 38.5 in June from May’s reading of 36.4. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 38.1.
The report said the German economy is likely to slowly pick up speed in the second half of this year.