Investing.com - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi slightly lifted sentiment, while concerns over the U.S. fiscal policy lingered.
GBP/USD hit 1.5929 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since October 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5980, easing 0.03%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5914, the low of October 23 and resistance at 1.6042, Wednesday's high.
Sentiment mildly improved after Mario Draghi said the euro zone was making “visible progress” in tackling the debt crisis, although he urged governments to continue with efforts to reduce budget deficits.
Speaking at the ECB’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said the bank’s planned bond purchase program had bolstered confidence in financial markets.
Draghi said the ECB expected growth to continue to be weak both for the remainder of this year and in 2013 and added that inflation is likely to remain just above the targeted 2% rate in the near term.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance fell to 355,000 last week from 363,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for an increase to 370,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S trade deficit narrowed to USD41.5 billion in September from a deficit of USD43.8 billion in August, defying expectations for a deficit of USD45.0 billion.
Overall market sentiment continued to be weighed by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
Elsewhere, sterling was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP falling 0.22%, to hit 0.7972.
Also Thursday, the Bank of England said it was maintaining the benchmark interest rate at 0.50% and the size of its asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion, following its policy-setting meeting.
GBP/USD hit 1.5929 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since October 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5980, easing 0.03%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5914, the low of October 23 and resistance at 1.6042, Wednesday's high.
Sentiment mildly improved after Mario Draghi said the euro zone was making “visible progress” in tackling the debt crisis, although he urged governments to continue with efforts to reduce budget deficits.
Speaking at the ECB’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said the bank’s planned bond purchase program had bolstered confidence in financial markets.
Draghi said the ECB expected growth to continue to be weak both for the remainder of this year and in 2013 and added that inflation is likely to remain just above the targeted 2% rate in the near term.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance fell to 355,000 last week from 363,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for an increase to 370,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S trade deficit narrowed to USD41.5 billion in September from a deficit of USD43.8 billion in August, defying expectations for a deficit of USD45.0 billion.
Overall market sentiment continued to be weighed by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
Elsewhere, sterling was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP falling 0.22%, to hit 0.7972.
Also Thursday, the Bank of England said it was maintaining the benchmark interest rate at 0.50% and the size of its asset purchase program unchanged at GBP375 billion, following its policy-setting meeting.