Investing.com - The euro was higher against the pound on Thursday, after ratings agency Fitch placed the U.K.’s triple-A credit rating on negative outlook, one week ahead of the unveiling of the country’s annual budget.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8350 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8330, gaining 0.20%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8294, Wednesday’s low and an almost one-month low and resistance at 0.8362, the high of March 7.
Fitch said that there was a slightly greater than 50% chance that the U.K.’s triple-A rating could be downgraded in the next two years, if the government eases back on implementing harsh austerity measures.
The ratings agency said that while risks arising from the debt crisis in the euro zone had lessened, the situation was not yet completely resolved and could flare up again, threatening the governments ability to stick to deficit reduction measures.
In the euro zone, official data earlier showed that the number of people employed across the single currency bloc fell by 0.2% in the last three months of 2011, in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, Spain auctioned EUR3 billion of bonds at an auction which met with solid investor demand and lower borrowing costs.
The euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.12% to hit 1.3046.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on producer price inflation, as well as official data on unemployment claims. The country was also to produce reports on manufacturing activity in New York and Philadelphia.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8350 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8330, gaining 0.20%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8294, Wednesday’s low and an almost one-month low and resistance at 0.8362, the high of March 7.
Fitch said that there was a slightly greater than 50% chance that the U.K.’s triple-A rating could be downgraded in the next two years, if the government eases back on implementing harsh austerity measures.
The ratings agency said that while risks arising from the debt crisis in the euro zone had lessened, the situation was not yet completely resolved and could flare up again, threatening the governments ability to stick to deficit reduction measures.
In the euro zone, official data earlier showed that the number of people employed across the single currency bloc fell by 0.2% in the last three months of 2011, in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, Spain auctioned EUR3 billion of bonds at an auction which met with solid investor demand and lower borrowing costs.
The euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.12% to hit 1.3046.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on producer price inflation, as well as official data on unemployment claims. The country was also to produce reports on manufacturing activity in New York and Philadelphia.