Investing.com – The pound erased losses against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, pulling back from an eight month low, tracking the euro higher as concerns over the euro zone debt crisis eased following remarks by the head of the European Commission.
GBP/USD rebounded from 1.5705; the pair’s lowest since January 12, to hit 1.5787 during European afternoon trade, inching up 0.04%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5705, the days low and resistance at 1.5869, Tuesday’s high.
Market sentiment was boosted after Jose Manuel Barroso said the commission would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds, but he warned that the measure alone would not be enough to end the region’s debt crisis and reiterated that Germany remained strongly opposed to the move.
In the U.K., official data earlier showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose less-than-expected in August.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by 20,300 last month, down from a rise of 33,700 in July and below forecasts for an increase of 35,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.9%, in line with expectations.
But the pound remained under pressure after the report showed that the number of people without work on the wider ILO measure showed its biggest rise in two years in the three months to July, as public sector employment fell sharply.
Meanwhile, the average earnings index rose to 2.8%, slightly more that the forecast 2.7% increase.
Elsewhere, the pound was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.21% to hit 0.8686.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on producer price inflation and retail sales.
GBP/USD rebounded from 1.5705; the pair’s lowest since January 12, to hit 1.5787 during European afternoon trade, inching up 0.04%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5705, the days low and resistance at 1.5869, Tuesday’s high.
Market sentiment was boosted after Jose Manuel Barroso said the commission would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds, but he warned that the measure alone would not be enough to end the region’s debt crisis and reiterated that Germany remained strongly opposed to the move.
In the U.K., official data earlier showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose less-than-expected in August.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by 20,300 last month, down from a rise of 33,700 in July and below forecasts for an increase of 35,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.9%, in line with expectations.
But the pound remained under pressure after the report showed that the number of people without work on the wider ILO measure showed its biggest rise in two years in the three months to July, as public sector employment fell sharply.
Meanwhile, the average earnings index rose to 2.8%, slightly more that the forecast 2.7% increase.
Elsewhere, the pound was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.21% to hit 0.8686.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on producer price inflation and retail sales.