Investing.com - The euro rose to a fresh two-month high against the pound on Wednesday, after a German court approved the country’s participation in the euro zone’s new bailout fund, while broadly better-than-expected U.K. jobs data supported sterling.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8017 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since July 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8015, up 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7968, the session low and near-term resistance at 0.8010, Monday’s high and a four-month high.
The ruling by Germany’s constitutional court cleared the way for the country’s president to ratify the European Stability Mechanism under certain conditions, allowing the European Central Bank’s bond purchasing program to proceed.
The court said Germany’s liability to the EMS must not exceed EUR190 billion without the approval of the lower house of parliament and said that both houses of parliament must be kept informed about decisions relating to the ESM.
In the U.K., official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in August, boosting demand for the pound.
The Office for National Statistics said that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell by a seasonally adjusted 15,000 last month, defying expectations for an increase of 500.
The previous month’s figure was revised to a decline of 13,600 from a previously reported drop of 5,900.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 8.1%, from 8.0% in July, compared to forecasts for an unchanged reading.
The euro advanced to multi-month highs against the U.S. dollar and the yen, with EUR/USD up 0.37% to 1.2901 and EUR/JPY advancing 0.56% to 100.51.
Elsewhere, Italy saw borrowing drop sharply at an auction of three- and 12-month government bonds, amid growing optimism policymakers in the euro zone will do more to stem the region’s ongoing debt crisis.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8017 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since July 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8015, up 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7968, the session low and near-term resistance at 0.8010, Monday’s high and a four-month high.
The ruling by Germany’s constitutional court cleared the way for the country’s president to ratify the European Stability Mechanism under certain conditions, allowing the European Central Bank’s bond purchasing program to proceed.
The court said Germany’s liability to the EMS must not exceed EUR190 billion without the approval of the lower house of parliament and said that both houses of parliament must be kept informed about decisions relating to the ESM.
In the U.K., official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in August, boosting demand for the pound.
The Office for National Statistics said that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell by a seasonally adjusted 15,000 last month, defying expectations for an increase of 500.
The previous month’s figure was revised to a decline of 13,600 from a previously reported drop of 5,900.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 8.1%, from 8.0% in July, compared to forecasts for an unchanged reading.
The euro advanced to multi-month highs against the U.S. dollar and the yen, with EUR/USD up 0.37% to 1.2901 and EUR/JPY advancing 0.56% to 100.51.
Elsewhere, Italy saw borrowing drop sharply at an auction of three- and 12-month government bonds, amid growing optimism policymakers in the euro zone will do more to stem the region’s ongoing debt crisis.