Investing.com – The euro edged up to a five-day high against the pound on Thursday, amid optimism that Greece will be able to stave off an immediate default and after an auction of Spanish government debt encountered reassuring demand.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8741 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since September 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8729, easing up 0.07%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8637, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.8768, the high of August 23.
The euro found support after a Greek government official said Athens looked set to get approval for the issue of its next tranche of aid. The comments came after French and German leaders said Wednesday that they were determined to keep Greece in the euro zone.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Treasury sold EUR3.95 billion of long term bonds in an auction which attracted solid investor demand. The auction came after Italy saw the yield demanded to hold its sovereign debt surge to euro-era highs on Tuesday.
The single currency remained under pressure amid speculation that Moody’s may downgrade its rating of Italian sovereign debt later this week.
In the U.K., official data showed that retail sales declined in line with expectation in August, slipping 0.2%.
The data did little to quell speculation that the Bank of England may resort to fresh monetary stimulus measures to shore up growth after a recent string of soft economic data added to fears over the fragile U.K. economy.
The euro was also higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.44% to hit 1.3814.
Also Thursday, official data showed that the rate of consumer price inflation in the euro zone held steady at 2.5% in August, in line with expectations.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8741 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since September 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8729, easing up 0.07%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8637, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.8768, the high of August 23.
The euro found support after a Greek government official said Athens looked set to get approval for the issue of its next tranche of aid. The comments came after French and German leaders said Wednesday that they were determined to keep Greece in the euro zone.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Treasury sold EUR3.95 billion of long term bonds in an auction which attracted solid investor demand. The auction came after Italy saw the yield demanded to hold its sovereign debt surge to euro-era highs on Tuesday.
The single currency remained under pressure amid speculation that Moody’s may downgrade its rating of Italian sovereign debt later this week.
In the U.K., official data showed that retail sales declined in line with expectation in August, slipping 0.2%.
The data did little to quell speculation that the Bank of England may resort to fresh monetary stimulus measures to shore up growth after a recent string of soft economic data added to fears over the fragile U.K. economy.
The euro was also higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.44% to hit 1.3814.
Also Thursday, official data showed that the rate of consumer price inflation in the euro zone held steady at 2.5% in August, in line with expectations.