Investing.com - The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar in subdued trade on Monday, as market sentiment firmed ahead of a series of euro zone meetings this week to discuss measures to stem the region’s debt crisis.
GBP/USD hit 1.5716 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5708, inching up 0.08%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5635, last Thursday’s low and near-term resistance at 1.5738, Friday’s high.
Luxemburg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro zone finance ministers, was expected in Athens on Wednesday to discuss Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ request for a two-year extension for the country’s program of economic reforms.
Over the weekend, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the European Central Bank may set limits on yields of euro-area sovereign debt by pledging unlimited bond purchases at the bank’s next policy meeting in September.
The pound also remained supported after a string of upbeat U.K. economic data last week indicated that the economy may not be performing as poorly as had been feared.
Data on Thursday showed that U.K. retail sales rose unexpectedly in July, while the previous months figure was revised up significantly. In addition, last week’s minutes of the Bank of England’s August meeting showed that policymakers did not discuss a rate cut.
But the dollar firmed up after improving U.S. data last week tempered expectations for another round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Fed’s August policy meeting later in the week, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
The pound was marginally lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.06% to 0.7863.
Trade looked likely to remain subdued on Monday, with no significant economic data releases on the calendar, while volumes were light with many market participants on summer holidays.
GBP/USD hit 1.5716 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5708, inching up 0.08%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5635, last Thursday’s low and near-term resistance at 1.5738, Friday’s high.
Luxemburg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro zone finance ministers, was expected in Athens on Wednesday to discuss Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ request for a two-year extension for the country’s program of economic reforms.
Over the weekend, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the European Central Bank may set limits on yields of euro-area sovereign debt by pledging unlimited bond purchases at the bank’s next policy meeting in September.
The pound also remained supported after a string of upbeat U.K. economic data last week indicated that the economy may not be performing as poorly as had been feared.
Data on Thursday showed that U.K. retail sales rose unexpectedly in July, while the previous months figure was revised up significantly. In addition, last week’s minutes of the Bank of England’s August meeting showed that policymakers did not discuss a rate cut.
But the dollar firmed up after improving U.S. data last week tempered expectations for another round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Fed’s August policy meeting later in the week, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
The pound was marginally lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.06% to 0.7863.
Trade looked likely to remain subdued on Monday, with no significant economic data releases on the calendar, while volumes were light with many market participants on summer holidays.