Investing.com - The pound was trading near 28-month highs against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as risk sentiment strengthened in thin year-end trade, although Thursday's upbeat U.S. jobless claims data still lent support to the greenback.
GBP/USD hit 1.6578 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since August 2011; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6519, gaining 0.67%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6406, the session low and resistance at 1.6618.
The greenback found support on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Labor said that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 338,000 last week. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 35,000 to 345,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 380,000, which was the highest since March.
The upbeat data added to the view that the U.S. economy will be strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to continue withdrawing stimulus through 2014.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP adding 0.16% to 0.8357.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light, with no major U.S. data to be released throughout the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.6578 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since August 2011; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6519, gaining 0.67%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6406, the session low and resistance at 1.6618.
The greenback found support on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Labor said that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 338,000 last week. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 35,000 to 345,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 380,000, which was the highest since March.
The upbeat data added to the view that the U.S. economy will be strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to continue withdrawing stimulus through 2014.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP adding 0.16% to 0.8357.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light, with no major U.S. data to be released throughout the day.