Investing.com – The pound extended early losses against the U.S. dollar on Monday, tumbling to a fresh 2-month low as fears that Ireland’s debt problems would spread to Portugal or Spain hit risk appetite.
GBP/USD hit 1.5529 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since September 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5544, shedding 0.29%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5448, the low of September 15 and resistance at 1.5771, last Friday’s high.
Earlier in the day, the cost of insuring Spanish and Portuguese five-year sovereign debt credit-default swaps soared to euro-lifetime highs amid fears that the rescue fund created by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union could run out if either country followed Ireland in requesting a bailout.
Also Monday, the U.K. Office for Budget Responsibility raised its growth forecast to 1.8% from 1.2% forecast in June, but it cut its 2011 forecast to 2.3% from 2.1% in its earlier estimate.
Meanwhile, the pound was up against the euro, with EUR/GBP tumbling 0.79% to hit 0.8424.
Earlier in the day, Bank of England data showed that mortgage approvals fell to an 8-month low in October while industry data showed that U.K. house prices fell for a fifth month in November, as demand for property dropped the most in almost two years.
GBP/USD hit 1.5529 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since September 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5544, shedding 0.29%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5448, the low of September 15 and resistance at 1.5771, last Friday’s high.
Earlier in the day, the cost of insuring Spanish and Portuguese five-year sovereign debt credit-default swaps soared to euro-lifetime highs amid fears that the rescue fund created by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union could run out if either country followed Ireland in requesting a bailout.
Also Monday, the U.K. Office for Budget Responsibility raised its growth forecast to 1.8% from 1.2% forecast in June, but it cut its 2011 forecast to 2.3% from 2.1% in its earlier estimate.
Meanwhile, the pound was up against the euro, with EUR/GBP tumbling 0.79% to hit 0.8424.
Earlier in the day, Bank of England data showed that mortgage approvals fell to an 8-month low in October while industry data showed that U.K. house prices fell for a fifth month in November, as demand for property dropped the most in almost two years.