Investing.com – The pound tumbled against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, falling to a fresh eight-month low after the minutes of the Bank of England’s September policy meeting showed that policymakers believe more easing is becoming necessary.
GBP/USD hit 1.5592 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since January 12; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5594, tumbling 0.89%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5448, the low of January 6 and resistance at 1.5746, Monday’s high.
The pound weakened broadly after the minutes of the BoE’s most recent meeting showed that most policymakers believed the economic conditions seen in the past month had strengthened the case for an "immediate" resumption of quantitative easing.
"For some members, a continuation of the conditions seen over the past month would probably be sufficient to justify an expansion of the asset purchase program at a subsequent meeting," the minutes said.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose more-than-expected in August, climbing to GBP13.2 billion, above expectations for an increase to GBP11.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve was to conclude its two-day policy meeting later in the day, as speculation mounted that the central bank would announce fresh measures to boost U.S. growth.
Central bank Chairman Ben Bernanke was expected to announce plans to replace short-term Treasuries with long-term bonds, in a move known as Operation Twist.
The pound was also down against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.67% to hit 0.8767.
Also Wednesday, industry data showed that U.S. existing home sales rose more-than-expected in August, rebounding from an eight-month low.
The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose by 7.7% to a seasonally adjusted 5.03 million units in August, blowing past expectations for a gain of 1.7% to 4.75 million units.
GBP/USD hit 1.5592 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since January 12; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5594, tumbling 0.89%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5448, the low of January 6 and resistance at 1.5746, Monday’s high.
The pound weakened broadly after the minutes of the BoE’s most recent meeting showed that most policymakers believed the economic conditions seen in the past month had strengthened the case for an "immediate" resumption of quantitative easing.
"For some members, a continuation of the conditions seen over the past month would probably be sufficient to justify an expansion of the asset purchase program at a subsequent meeting," the minutes said.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose more-than-expected in August, climbing to GBP13.2 billion, above expectations for an increase to GBP11.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve was to conclude its two-day policy meeting later in the day, as speculation mounted that the central bank would announce fresh measures to boost U.S. growth.
Central bank Chairman Ben Bernanke was expected to announce plans to replace short-term Treasuries with long-term bonds, in a move known as Operation Twist.
The pound was also down against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.67% to hit 0.8767.
Also Wednesday, industry data showed that U.S. existing home sales rose more-than-expected in August, rebounding from an eight-month low.
The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose by 7.7% to a seasonally adjusted 5.03 million units in August, blowing past expectations for a gain of 1.7% to 4.75 million units.