Investing.com - The pound was steady against the U.S. dollar in subdued trade on Thursday, as markets turned to an Italian debt auction later in the day amid ongoing worries over the handling of the debt crisis in the euro zone.
GBP/USD hit 1.5429 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since December 14; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5452, easing 0.03%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5408, the low of December 14 and resistance at 1.5528, the high of December 15.
With most investors already away on year-end leave, trading volumes were thin, resulting in tight liquidity conditions and irregular volatility.
Investors were cautious as Italy was preparing to sell EUR8.5 billion of long-term debt maturing between 2014 and 2022, later Thursday.
Rome sold EUR9 billion of six-month bills on Wednesday, at an average yield of 3.25%, down from a record-high 6.50% in a previous auction in November.
Following the auction, the yield on Italy’s 10-year bonds traded at 6.82%, falling slightly below the 7% threshold widely seen as unsustainable in the long-term.
But the sale failed to reassure markets as concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone lingered after data showed earlier in the week that banks deposited a record high EUR452 billion at the European Central Bank's overnight facility, revealing that European lenders are still unwilling to lend to each other.
Meanwhile, the pound was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP slipping 0.10%, to trade at 0.8363.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales and business conditions in the Chicago area.
GBP/USD hit 1.5429 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since December 14; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5452, easing 0.03%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5408, the low of December 14 and resistance at 1.5528, the high of December 15.
With most investors already away on year-end leave, trading volumes were thin, resulting in tight liquidity conditions and irregular volatility.
Investors were cautious as Italy was preparing to sell EUR8.5 billion of long-term debt maturing between 2014 and 2022, later Thursday.
Rome sold EUR9 billion of six-month bills on Wednesday, at an average yield of 3.25%, down from a record-high 6.50% in a previous auction in November.
Following the auction, the yield on Italy’s 10-year bonds traded at 6.82%, falling slightly below the 7% threshold widely seen as unsustainable in the long-term.
But the sale failed to reassure markets as concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone lingered after data showed earlier in the week that banks deposited a record high EUR452 billion at the European Central Bank's overnight facility, revealing that European lenders are still unwilling to lend to each other.
Meanwhile, the pound was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP slipping 0.10%, to trade at 0.8363.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales and business conditions in the Chicago area.