Investing.com - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi unveiled details of the bank’s bond-purchasing program, while upbeat U.S. data dampened expectations for fresh easing measures by the Federal Reserve.
GBP/USD hit 1.5926 during U.S. morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5906, inching up 0.02%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5824, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.5998, the high of May 16.
Speaking at the central bank’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi outlined a new bond purchasing program, dubbed Outright Monetary Transactions, which he said will provide "a fully effective backstop" against market volatility.
Draghi said "strict and effective conditionality” was an essential element of the plan, under which the ECB would unlimited amounts of bonds of up to three years in maturity.
The ECB will decide on when bond purchases will start and how long they will continue after a “full assessment”.
The ECB also slashed its forecast for economic growth for this year, to a contraction of 0.6%, from a previous forecast for a 0.2% contraction.
The comments came after the ECB maintained the benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.75%, in line with market expectations at its policy meeting earlier in the day.
In the U.S., payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 201,000 in August, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 140,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised up to a gain of 173,000 from a previously reported increase of 163,000.
A separate report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by a more-than-expected 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 7,000 to 370,000.
Elsewhere, the pound was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP falling 0.13%, to hit 0.7914.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England held the benchmark interest rate at 0.50% and maintained the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at GBP375 billion, in a widely expected move.
GBP/USD hit 1.5926 during U.S. morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5906, inching up 0.02%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5824, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.5998, the high of May 16.
Speaking at the central bank’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi outlined a new bond purchasing program, dubbed Outright Monetary Transactions, which he said will provide "a fully effective backstop" against market volatility.
Draghi said "strict and effective conditionality” was an essential element of the plan, under which the ECB would unlimited amounts of bonds of up to three years in maturity.
The ECB will decide on when bond purchases will start and how long they will continue after a “full assessment”.
The ECB also slashed its forecast for economic growth for this year, to a contraction of 0.6%, from a previous forecast for a 0.2% contraction.
The comments came after the ECB maintained the benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.75%, in line with market expectations at its policy meeting earlier in the day.
In the U.S., payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 201,000 in August, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 140,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised up to a gain of 173,000 from a previously reported increase of 163,000.
A separate report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by a more-than-expected 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 7,000 to 370,000.
Elsewhere, the pound was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP falling 0.13%, to hit 0.7914.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England held the benchmark interest rate at 0.50% and maintained the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at GBP375 billion, in a widely expected move.