Investing.com - The pound remained higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as upbeat U.S. jobless claims and manufacturing data supported demand for riskier assets.
GBP/USD hit 1.5530 during U.S. morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5506, adding 0.24%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5393, the low of October 3 and resistance at 1.5594, the high of November 28.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits fell to a three-year low of 366,000 in the week ending December 10.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise to 390,000 last week.
Separate reports showed that the New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions jumped to a seven-month high in December, rising to 9.5, while the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions doubled expectations with a reading at 10.3.
Data also showed that producer price inflation in the U.S. rose 0.3% in November, broadly in line with expectations. The previous month’s figure fell by an unrevised 0.3%.
Sentiment improved earlier after Spain’s Treasury sold EUR6 billion of medium-and-long-term bonds, far surpassing a target of EUR3.5 billion.
The country sold EUR2.5 billion of five-year bonds at an average yield of 4.02%, down sharply from 5.27% at a similar auction last month. Spain also auctioned EUR1.4 billion of 10-year bonds at a yield of 5.54%, compared to 6.97% last month.
Elsewhere, sterling was up against the euro with EUR/GBP edging 0.02% lower, to hit 0.8393.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that U.K. retail sales fell 0.4% in November, but rose 0.7% over the past three months compared to the previous three, the strongest gain since August 2010.
GBP/USD hit 1.5530 during U.S. morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5506, adding 0.24%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5393, the low of October 3 and resistance at 1.5594, the high of November 28.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits fell to a three-year low of 366,000 in the week ending December 10.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise to 390,000 last week.
Separate reports showed that the New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions jumped to a seven-month high in December, rising to 9.5, while the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions doubled expectations with a reading at 10.3.
Data also showed that producer price inflation in the U.S. rose 0.3% in November, broadly in line with expectations. The previous month’s figure fell by an unrevised 0.3%.
Sentiment improved earlier after Spain’s Treasury sold EUR6 billion of medium-and-long-term bonds, far surpassing a target of EUR3.5 billion.
The country sold EUR2.5 billion of five-year bonds at an average yield of 4.02%, down sharply from 5.27% at a similar auction last month. Spain also auctioned EUR1.4 billion of 10-year bonds at a yield of 5.54%, compared to 6.97% last month.
Elsewhere, sterling was up against the euro with EUR/GBP edging 0.02% lower, to hit 0.8393.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that U.K. retail sales fell 0.4% in November, but rose 0.7% over the past three months compared to the previous three, the strongest gain since August 2010.