Investing.com – The pound was lower against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as fears over the threat of widespread sovereign ratings downgrades in the euro zone spurred a flight to the relative safety of the greenback.
GBP/USD hit 1.5434 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since November 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5436, shedding 0.27%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5330, the low of September 23 and resistance at 1.5531, the days high.
Concerns over mass ratings cuts across the euro zone persisted despite fair investor demand at auctions of Italian and German government debt earlier in the day.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full targeted amount of EUR3 billion of five-year government bonds, but saw bond yields rise to a euro-era highs.
Germany auctioned EUR4.18 billion of two-year bonds at record low yields, reassuring investors after an auction of 10-year bonds last month met with extremely weak investor demand.
Meanwhile, demand for the greenback remained supported after the Federal Reserve warned that market turbulence stemming from the crisis in the euro zone posed a threat to the U.S. economy but stopped short of indicating fresh stimulus measures to shore up growth.
In the U.K., official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose less-than-expected in December, advancing by 3,000 after a rise of 2,500 the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of people claiming unemployment benefits to rise by 16,100 in November.
The report also showed that the U.K. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3%, despite expectations for a rise to 8.4%.
Elsewhere, the pound was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.21% to hit 0.8403.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that industrial production in the euro zone declined unexpectedly in October, falling for the second consecutive month.
GBP/USD hit 1.5434 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since November 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5436, shedding 0.27%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5330, the low of September 23 and resistance at 1.5531, the days high.
Concerns over mass ratings cuts across the euro zone persisted despite fair investor demand at auctions of Italian and German government debt earlier in the day.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full targeted amount of EUR3 billion of five-year government bonds, but saw bond yields rise to a euro-era highs.
Germany auctioned EUR4.18 billion of two-year bonds at record low yields, reassuring investors after an auction of 10-year bonds last month met with extremely weak investor demand.
Meanwhile, demand for the greenback remained supported after the Federal Reserve warned that market turbulence stemming from the crisis in the euro zone posed a threat to the U.S. economy but stopped short of indicating fresh stimulus measures to shore up growth.
In the U.K., official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose less-than-expected in December, advancing by 3,000 after a rise of 2,500 the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of people claiming unemployment benefits to rise by 16,100 in November.
The report also showed that the U.K. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3%, despite expectations for a rise to 8.4%.
Elsewhere, the pound was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.21% to hit 0.8403.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that industrial production in the euro zone declined unexpectedly in October, falling for the second consecutive month.