Investing.com - The euro was trading close to a two-week high against the pound on Thursday, ahead of interest rate decisions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England later in the session, as recent weak U.K. data underlined concerns over the faltering economy.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8039 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since September 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8036, gaining 0.11%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7995, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.8072, the high of September 18.
Demand for the single currency continued to be underpinned by speculation that Spain will soon request a bailout and trigger a bond buying program by the ECB, which investors hope will ease the debt crisis in the region.
Earlier Thursday, Spain saw borrowing costs fall at an auction of government bonds, with the yield on five-year bonds dropping to 4.76% from 6.45% last month.
The ECB was widely expected to keep rates on hold following its meeting later in the session.
The BoE was not expected to announce any changes to monetary policy at the conclusion of its policy meeting later in the day, but expectations that the bank could ease policy next month mounted amid growing concerns over the faltering U.K. economy.
Data on Wednesday showed that the U.K. service sector shed jobs for the first time in 10 months in September as growth slowed.
The euro was higher against the U.S. dollar and the yen, with EUR/USD up 0.34% to 1.2949 and EUR/JPY rising 0.44% to 101.73.
Market participants were looking ahead to the weekly U.S. government report on initial jobless claims and the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting later Thursday.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8039 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since September 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8036, gaining 0.11%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7995, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.8072, the high of September 18.
Demand for the single currency continued to be underpinned by speculation that Spain will soon request a bailout and trigger a bond buying program by the ECB, which investors hope will ease the debt crisis in the region.
Earlier Thursday, Spain saw borrowing costs fall at an auction of government bonds, with the yield on five-year bonds dropping to 4.76% from 6.45% last month.
The ECB was widely expected to keep rates on hold following its meeting later in the session.
The BoE was not expected to announce any changes to monetary policy at the conclusion of its policy meeting later in the day, but expectations that the bank could ease policy next month mounted amid growing concerns over the faltering U.K. economy.
Data on Wednesday showed that the U.K. service sector shed jobs for the first time in 10 months in September as growth slowed.
The euro was higher against the U.S. dollar and the yen, with EUR/USD up 0.34% to 1.2949 and EUR/JPY rising 0.44% to 101.73.
Market participants were looking ahead to the weekly U.S. government report on initial jobless claims and the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting later Thursday.