Investing.com - The pound trimmed gains against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, but market sentiment remained supported following reports that Greek politicians reached an agreement on a long-awaited austerity deal.
GBP/USD pulled back from 1.5884, the daily high, to hit 1.5831 during U.S. morning trade, still up 0.08%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5787, the low of February 7 and resistance at 1.5928, Wednesday’s high.
A spokesman for Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said an agreement on the conditions set by international creditors in exchange for a new bailout worth EUR130 billion had been reached.
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos was expected to present the details of the agreement for discussion at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England increased its quantitative easing program by GBP50 billion, citing the "significant margin" of slack in the British economy and left interest rates unchanged at 0.5% in a widely expected decision.
The decision came amid renewed fears that the U.K. is slipping into a recession after recent data showing that the economy contracted in the fourth quarter.
The decision came after data showing that manufacturing production in the U.K. rose significantly more-than-expected in December, increasing for the first time in three months, while industrial production also rose more-than-expected.
A separate report showed that the U.K. goods trade deficit narrowed more-than-expected in January, contracting to GBP7.1 billion, from an upwardly revised GBP8.9 billion the previous month.
Meanwhile, the pound was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP rising 0.08, to hit 0.8391.
Also Thursday, official data showed that U.S. jobless claims fell to an almost four-year low last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000, beating expectations for a decline to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 373,000 from 367,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 13 of the past 15 weeks.
GBP/USD pulled back from 1.5884, the daily high, to hit 1.5831 during U.S. morning trade, still up 0.08%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5787, the low of February 7 and resistance at 1.5928, Wednesday’s high.
A spokesman for Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said an agreement on the conditions set by international creditors in exchange for a new bailout worth EUR130 billion had been reached.
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos was expected to present the details of the agreement for discussion at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England increased its quantitative easing program by GBP50 billion, citing the "significant margin" of slack in the British economy and left interest rates unchanged at 0.5% in a widely expected decision.
The decision came amid renewed fears that the U.K. is slipping into a recession after recent data showing that the economy contracted in the fourth quarter.
The decision came after data showing that manufacturing production in the U.K. rose significantly more-than-expected in December, increasing for the first time in three months, while industrial production also rose more-than-expected.
A separate report showed that the U.K. goods trade deficit narrowed more-than-expected in January, contracting to GBP7.1 billion, from an upwardly revised GBP8.9 billion the previous month.
Meanwhile, the pound was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP rising 0.08, to hit 0.8391.
Also Thursday, official data showed that U.S. jobless claims fell to an almost four-year low last week.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000, beating expectations for a decline to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 373,000 from 367,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 13 of the past 15 weeks.