Investing.com - The pound was steady against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, swinging between small gains and losses as investors turned to a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund President Christine Lagarde.
GBP/USD hit 1.5447 during European morning trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5452, easing 0.03%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5395, the low of January 9 and resistance at 1.5525, the high of January 6.
Markets were jittery as Angela Merkel warned Greece on Monday that it would not be possible to give further financial aid without swift progress on its second rescue package, including a voluntary write-down on Greek debt held by private creditors.
Merkel also said she was optimistic that the European Union will be able to sign off its fiscal pact by the end of January.
Meanwhile, concerns over weakness in the euro zone banking sector persisted after a report showed that overnight deposits at the European Central Bank on Tuesday hit a fresh record of EUR481.935 billion, indicating that banks in the region remain unwilling to lend to each other.
Elsewhere, sterling was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/GBP inching down 0.05%, to hit 0.8253.
Also Tuesday, industry data showed that the U.K.’s house price balance fell less than expected in December, declining 16% after a 17% fall the previous month.
Analysts had expected the house price balance to fall 18% in December.
A separate report by the British Retail Consortium showed that retail sales in the U.K. rose 2.2% in December after a 1.6% decline the previous month.
GBP/USD hit 1.5447 during European morning trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5452, easing 0.03%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5395, the low of January 9 and resistance at 1.5525, the high of January 6.
Markets were jittery as Angela Merkel warned Greece on Monday that it would not be possible to give further financial aid without swift progress on its second rescue package, including a voluntary write-down on Greek debt held by private creditors.
Merkel also said she was optimistic that the European Union will be able to sign off its fiscal pact by the end of January.
Meanwhile, concerns over weakness in the euro zone banking sector persisted after a report showed that overnight deposits at the European Central Bank on Tuesday hit a fresh record of EUR481.935 billion, indicating that banks in the region remain unwilling to lend to each other.
Elsewhere, sterling was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/GBP inching down 0.05%, to hit 0.8253.
Also Tuesday, industry data showed that the U.K.’s house price balance fell less than expected in December, declining 16% after a 17% fall the previous month.
Analysts had expected the house price balance to fall 18% in December.
A separate report by the British Retail Consortium showed that retail sales in the U.K. rose 2.2% in December after a 1.6% decline the previous month.