Investing.com - The pound held gains against the U.S. dollar in light trade on Friday, as the greenback remained under pressure amid sustained concerns over the economic effects of the recent U.S. government shutdown.
GBP/USD hit 1.6224 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since October 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6184, edging up 0.13%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6026, the low of October 7 and resistance at 1.6241, the high of October 3.
The greenback weakened broadly amid fears over the impact of the government shutdown on the already fragile economic recovery, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to delay plans for scaling back its stimulus program until at least the start of next year.
The possibility of another debt crisis also loomed, as the temporary debt ceiling agreement reached early Thursday does not resolve the underlying budgetary issues dividing Republicans and Democrats.
The deal will fund the government until January 15 and raise the government borrowing limit until February 7. Both sides also agreed to talks over broad budget issues in an attempt to reach a longer-term deal by December 13.
Risk sentiment found support after official data earlier showed that China gross domestic product grew by 7.8% in the third quarter, in line with expectations and up from 7.5% in the three months to June.
The data eased concerns over the strength of the recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
Sterling was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/GBP easing 0.07%, to hit 0.8454.
GBP/USD hit 1.6224 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since October 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6184, edging up 0.13%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6026, the low of October 7 and resistance at 1.6241, the high of October 3.
The greenback weakened broadly amid fears over the impact of the government shutdown on the already fragile economic recovery, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to delay plans for scaling back its stimulus program until at least the start of next year.
The possibility of another debt crisis also loomed, as the temporary debt ceiling agreement reached early Thursday does not resolve the underlying budgetary issues dividing Republicans and Democrats.
The deal will fund the government until January 15 and raise the government borrowing limit until February 7. Both sides also agreed to talks over broad budget issues in an attempt to reach a longer-term deal by December 13.
Risk sentiment found support after official data earlier showed that China gross domestic product grew by 7.8% in the third quarter, in line with expectations and up from 7.5% in the three months to June.
The data eased concerns over the strength of the recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
Sterling was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/GBP easing 0.07%, to hit 0.8454.