Investing.com - The pound surged to an 8-month high against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after Singapore’s central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy, exacerbating broad selling pressure on the U.S. dollar.
GBP/USD hit 1.6049 during early European trade, that pair’s highest since February 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6046, jumping 0.95%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5773, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.6275, the high of January 28.
Earlier Thursday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened policy, broadening the range of the Singapore dollar's trading band. At the same time, the authorities said they were maintaining a policy of "modest and gradual appreciation" of the local dollar.
MAS sets policy by managing the Singapore dollar in a secret trade-weighted band against a basket of currencies, instead of setting interest rates.
The move increased pressure on the greenback which has already weakened broadly amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to implement further monetary easing in an effort to stimulate growth.
Meanwhile, the pound was down against the euro, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.05% to hit 0.8787.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on initial jobless claims, as well as data on inflation and the country's trade balance.
GBP/USD hit 1.6049 during early European trade, that pair’s highest since February 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6046, jumping 0.95%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5773, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.6275, the high of January 28.
Earlier Thursday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened policy, broadening the range of the Singapore dollar's trading band. At the same time, the authorities said they were maintaining a policy of "modest and gradual appreciation" of the local dollar.
MAS sets policy by managing the Singapore dollar in a secret trade-weighted band against a basket of currencies, instead of setting interest rates.
The move increased pressure on the greenback which has already weakened broadly amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to implement further monetary easing in an effort to stimulate growth.
Meanwhile, the pound was down against the euro, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.05% to hit 0.8787.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on initial jobless claims, as well as data on inflation and the country's trade balance.