Investing.com - The pound trimmed gains against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, on reports of an upcoming Irish referendum on the new European Union fiscal compact but sterling remained supported ahead of a liquidity operation by the European Central Bank.
GBP/USD pulled back from 1.5876, the daily high, to hit 1.5826 during U.S. morning trade, still up 0.01%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5783, the low of February 13 and resistance at 1.5879, the high of February 20.
Risk sentiment weakened after Ireland’s prime minister confirmed that the country is to hold a referendum in the coming weeks on the European Fiscal Compact Treaty, which proposes harsh new budgetary discipline on each euro zone state, including near-zero public deficits.
The reports came after a flurry of mixed U.S. economic data. The Conference Board said earlier that its index of U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a 12-month high this month, rising to 70.8 from a reading of 61.5 in January and far outstripping expectations for a gain to 63.0.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said U.S. orders for long lasting manufactured goods fell by the most in three years in January.
Durable goods orders dropped 4.0%, far worse than forecasts for a 0.8% decline, while core durable goods orders, which excludes transportation items, tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 3.2% in January.
A separate report showed that U.S. home prices fell more-than-expected in December, declining for the 18th consecutive month.
Sterling remained supported however as markets looked ahead to the launch of the ECB’s second three-year long-term refinancing operation, after a similar liquidity injection in December averted a credit crunch and eased pressure on peripheral euro zone bond markets.
The pound was also lower against the euro with EUR/GBP adding 0.13%, to hit 0.8476.
Also Tuesday, the Confederation of British Industry reported that retail sale volumes in the U.K. improved significantly in February, after tumbling to the lowest level since March 2009 in January.
GBP/USD pulled back from 1.5876, the daily high, to hit 1.5826 during U.S. morning trade, still up 0.01%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5783, the low of February 13 and resistance at 1.5879, the high of February 20.
Risk sentiment weakened after Ireland’s prime minister confirmed that the country is to hold a referendum in the coming weeks on the European Fiscal Compact Treaty, which proposes harsh new budgetary discipline on each euro zone state, including near-zero public deficits.
The reports came after a flurry of mixed U.S. economic data. The Conference Board said earlier that its index of U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a 12-month high this month, rising to 70.8 from a reading of 61.5 in January and far outstripping expectations for a gain to 63.0.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said U.S. orders for long lasting manufactured goods fell by the most in three years in January.
Durable goods orders dropped 4.0%, far worse than forecasts for a 0.8% decline, while core durable goods orders, which excludes transportation items, tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 3.2% in January.
A separate report showed that U.S. home prices fell more-than-expected in December, declining for the 18th consecutive month.
Sterling remained supported however as markets looked ahead to the launch of the ECB’s second three-year long-term refinancing operation, after a similar liquidity injection in December averted a credit crunch and eased pressure on peripheral euro zone bond markets.
The pound was also lower against the euro with EUR/GBP adding 0.13%, to hit 0.8476.
Also Tuesday, the Confederation of British Industry reported that retail sale volumes in the U.K. improved significantly in February, after tumbling to the lowest level since March 2009 in January.