Investing.com - The pound remained higher against the U.S. dollar in subdued trade on Wednesday, after the release of positive U.S. new home sales data as investors remained focused on speculation over the future of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program.
GBP/USD hit 1.6078 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since September 19; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6069, climbing 0.41%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5893, the low of September 18 and resistance at 1.6146, the high of September 19.
In a report, the Census Bureau said that U.S. new home sales rose 7.9% to a seasonally adjusted 421,000 units in August, from a downwardly revised 390,000 the previous month. Analysts had expected new home sales to rise to 420,000 units last month.
A separate report showed that U.S. core durable goods orders, excluding transportation items, fell 0.1% in August, disappointing expectations for a 1% increase, after an upwardly revised 0.5% rise the previous month.
Durable goods orders in the U.S. rose 0.1% lasr month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase, following a downwardly revised 8.1% decline in July.
The data came after U.S. economic reports on Tuesday underlined concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery and following last week’s unexpected decision by the Federal Reserve to keep its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program on track.
The Fed said it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it reduced stimulus. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction in bond buying.
The pound found support earlier, after a report compiled by the Confederation of British Industry showed that its retail sales index rose to 34.0 in September from 27.0 last month, the highest level since June 2012. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 24.0.
Sterling was also higher against the euro with EUR/GBP falling 0.17%, to hit 0.8404.
In the euro zone, data showed that German consumer confidence is seen rising to the highest level since June 2007 in October.
The forward looking GfK index of German consumer confidence rose to 7.1, and this month’s reading was revised up from 6.9 to 7.
GBP/USD hit 1.6078 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since September 19; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6069, climbing 0.41%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5893, the low of September 18 and resistance at 1.6146, the high of September 19.
In a report, the Census Bureau said that U.S. new home sales rose 7.9% to a seasonally adjusted 421,000 units in August, from a downwardly revised 390,000 the previous month. Analysts had expected new home sales to rise to 420,000 units last month.
A separate report showed that U.S. core durable goods orders, excluding transportation items, fell 0.1% in August, disappointing expectations for a 1% increase, after an upwardly revised 0.5% rise the previous month.
Durable goods orders in the U.S. rose 0.1% lasr month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase, following a downwardly revised 8.1% decline in July.
The data came after U.S. economic reports on Tuesday underlined concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery and following last week’s unexpected decision by the Federal Reserve to keep its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program on track.
The Fed said it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it reduced stimulus. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction in bond buying.
The pound found support earlier, after a report compiled by the Confederation of British Industry showed that its retail sales index rose to 34.0 in September from 27.0 last month, the highest level since June 2012. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 24.0.
Sterling was also higher against the euro with EUR/GBP falling 0.17%, to hit 0.8404.
In the euro zone, data showed that German consumer confidence is seen rising to the highest level since June 2007 in October.
The forward looking GfK index of German consumer confidence rose to 7.1, and this month’s reading was revised up from 6.9 to 7.