Investing.com – The euro was higher against the pound on Thursday, rebounding from an eight-month low after Italy successfully auctioned EUR5 billion of government bonds at lower-than-expected yields.
EUR/GBP pulled back from 0.8484, the pair’s lowest since March 2, to hit 0.8524 during European morning trade, rising 0.18%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8484, the days low and resistance at 0.8565, Wednesday’s high.
Italy auctioned EUR5 billion of one-year Treasury bills at an average yield of 6.08%, the highest since September 1997, but still well below analyst expectations of 7%.
Following the auction, the yield on 10-year Italian bonds eased to 6.98% after rising past the 7% threshold at which Greece, Ireland and Portugal sought international bailouts on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Greek leaders were still struggling determine who will head the new coalition government.
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde earlier called for political clarity to be restored in Italy and Greece in order to calm market volatility.
Elsewhere, in its monthly bulletin the European Central Bank halved its estimate for growth in the euro zone next year. The bank said it now expects the region’s gross domestic product to expand by just 0.8% in 2012, down from a previous forecast of 1.6%.
The euro also gained against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.19% to hit 1.3568.
Later Thursday, the Bank of England was to announce its benchmark interest rate, while the U.S. was to produce official data on jobless claims and the trade balance.
EUR/GBP pulled back from 0.8484, the pair’s lowest since March 2, to hit 0.8524 during European morning trade, rising 0.18%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8484, the days low and resistance at 0.8565, Wednesday’s high.
Italy auctioned EUR5 billion of one-year Treasury bills at an average yield of 6.08%, the highest since September 1997, but still well below analyst expectations of 7%.
Following the auction, the yield on 10-year Italian bonds eased to 6.98% after rising past the 7% threshold at which Greece, Ireland and Portugal sought international bailouts on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Greek leaders were still struggling determine who will head the new coalition government.
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde earlier called for political clarity to be restored in Italy and Greece in order to calm market volatility.
Elsewhere, in its monthly bulletin the European Central Bank halved its estimate for growth in the euro zone next year. The bank said it now expects the region’s gross domestic product to expand by just 0.8% in 2012, down from a previous forecast of 1.6%.
The euro also gained against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.19% to hit 1.3568.
Later Thursday, the Bank of England was to announce its benchmark interest rate, while the U.S. was to produce official data on jobless claims and the trade balance.