Investing.com - The pound remained down against the broadly stronger U.S. dollar on Thursday, after the Bank of England left monetary policy unchanged as fresh concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone curbed demand for higher-yielding assets.
GBP/USD hit 1.5818 during European early afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since March 26; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5819, shedding 0.44%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5769, the low of March 22 and resistance at 1.5907, the session high.
The BoE kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.5%, in a widely expected move and announced no change to the size of its asset purchase facility which stands at GBP325 billion, following a GBP50 billion increase in February.
The announcement came after unexpectedly weak data on U.K. factory output cast doubts over the strength of the country’s economic recovery.
The Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production in the U.K. fell by 1.0% in February and the previous month’s figures was revised down to show a drop of 0.3%, giving an annual decline of 1.4%.
Industrial production rose 0.4% in February, slightly above expectations for a 0.3% gain.
Elsewhere, market sentiment was hit by concerns that the debt crisis in the euro zone could flare up again, as Spain’s borrowing costs continued to rise following Wednesday’s poorly received government bond auction.
The yield on the country’s 10-year bond climbed to 5.71% earlier, the highest level since mid-December.
Meanwhile, concerns over the outlook for growth in the euro zone mounted following a recent string of weak economic data.
The pound was trading close to a two-and-a-half month high against the euro, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.12% to hit 0.8260.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims.
GBP/USD hit 1.5818 during European early afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since March 26; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5819, shedding 0.44%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5769, the low of March 22 and resistance at 1.5907, the session high.
The BoE kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.5%, in a widely expected move and announced no change to the size of its asset purchase facility which stands at GBP325 billion, following a GBP50 billion increase in February.
The announcement came after unexpectedly weak data on U.K. factory output cast doubts over the strength of the country’s economic recovery.
The Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing production in the U.K. fell by 1.0% in February and the previous month’s figures was revised down to show a drop of 0.3%, giving an annual decline of 1.4%.
Industrial production rose 0.4% in February, slightly above expectations for a 0.3% gain.
Elsewhere, market sentiment was hit by concerns that the debt crisis in the euro zone could flare up again, as Spain’s borrowing costs continued to rise following Wednesday’s poorly received government bond auction.
The yield on the country’s 10-year bond climbed to 5.71% earlier, the highest level since mid-December.
Meanwhile, concerns over the outlook for growth in the euro zone mounted following a recent string of weak economic data.
The pound was trading close to a two-and-a-half month high against the euro, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.12% to hit 0.8260.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims.