Investing.com - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after the release of disappointing U.S. economic reports added to expectations for the Federal Reserve to postpone the tapering of its stimulus program.
GBP/USD hit 1.6223 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6171, easing up 0.05%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6114, the low of October 22 and resistance at 1.6255, Wednesday’s high.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 350,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 22,000 to 340,000 last week.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted USD38.8 billion in August from a deficit of USD38.6 billion in July. Economists had forecast a deficit of USD39.5 billion.
The disappointing data underlined expectations that the Fed will delay tapering its stimulus program until next year amid concerns over the impact of the 16-day U.S. government shutdown on the economic recovery.
Sterling was also lower against the euro with EUR/GBP adding 0.15%, to hit 0.8536.
Also Thursday, the preliminary reading of the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked up to 51.3 in October from a final reading of 51.1 in September, slightly below expectations for a reading of 51.4.
The euro zone services PMI fell to 50.9 this month from 52.2 in September.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI edged up to 51.5 from a final reading of 51.1 in September, but the services PMI declined to a three-month low of 52.3.
Manufacturing and service sector activity in France declined unexpectedly this month.
GBP/USD hit 1.6223 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6171, easing up 0.05%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6114, the low of October 22 and resistance at 1.6255, Wednesday’s high.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 350,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 22,000 to 340,000 last week.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted USD38.8 billion in August from a deficit of USD38.6 billion in July. Economists had forecast a deficit of USD39.5 billion.
The disappointing data underlined expectations that the Fed will delay tapering its stimulus program until next year amid concerns over the impact of the 16-day U.S. government shutdown on the economic recovery.
Sterling was also lower against the euro with EUR/GBP adding 0.15%, to hit 0.8536.
Also Thursday, the preliminary reading of the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked up to 51.3 in October from a final reading of 51.1 in September, slightly below expectations for a reading of 51.4.
The euro zone services PMI fell to 50.9 this month from 52.2 in September.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI edged up to 51.5 from a final reading of 51.1 in September, but the services PMI declined to a three-month low of 52.3.
Manufacturing and service sector activity in France declined unexpectedly this month.