Investing.com - The pound pushed lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as markets were jittery ahead of a highly anticipated German court ruling, although sterling remained supported by expectations for fresh easing measures by the Federal Reserve later in the week.
GBP/USD hit 1.5974 during European afternoon trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5976, falling 0.20%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5921, the low of September 7 and resistance at 1.6077, the high of April 19.
Investors remained cautious ahead of a German court ruling on the constitutionality of the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism on Wednesday.
But sentiment remained supported after the European Central Bank unveiled details of its bond purchasing program, which is aimed at lowering the borrowing costs of peripheral euro zone members.
Sentiment on sterling also remained supported after stronger-than-forecast services and manufacturing data last week indicated that the U.K. economy was not performing as poorly as had been feared.
Meanwhile, markets were eyeing the outcome of the Fed’s policy meeting on Thursday, after disappointing employment data on Friday fueled fresh speculation that the U.S. central bank may announce a third round of quantitative easing to boost growth.
The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 96,000 jobs in August, well below expectations for 125,000, following a downwardly revised 141,000 in July.
Elsewhere, the pound was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/GBP easing 0.08%, to hit 0.7999.
Also Monday, a report showed that investor confidence in the euro zone improved this month for the first time since March, largely due to optimism surrounding the ECB’s bond purchasing plan.
GBP/USD hit 1.5974 during European afternoon trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5976, falling 0.20%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5921, the low of September 7 and resistance at 1.6077, the high of April 19.
Investors remained cautious ahead of a German court ruling on the constitutionality of the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism on Wednesday.
But sentiment remained supported after the European Central Bank unveiled details of its bond purchasing program, which is aimed at lowering the borrowing costs of peripheral euro zone members.
Sentiment on sterling also remained supported after stronger-than-forecast services and manufacturing data last week indicated that the U.K. economy was not performing as poorly as had been feared.
Meanwhile, markets were eyeing the outcome of the Fed’s policy meeting on Thursday, after disappointing employment data on Friday fueled fresh speculation that the U.S. central bank may announce a third round of quantitative easing to boost growth.
The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 96,000 jobs in August, well below expectations for 125,000, following a downwardly revised 141,000 in July.
Elsewhere, the pound was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/GBP easing 0.08%, to hit 0.7999.
Also Monday, a report showed that investor confidence in the euro zone improved this month for the first time since March, largely due to optimism surrounding the ECB’s bond purchasing plan.