Investing.com - The pound remained lower against the U.S. dollar in cautious trade on Thursday, as investors looked ahead to the outcome of a European Central Bank policy meeting and the release of U.S. employment data later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.6163 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6178, slipping 0.13%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6108, the low of April 24 and resistance at 1.6238, Wednesday’s high.
Investors remained cautious after an auction of Spanish government debt met with solid investor demand but saw the country’s short-term borrowing costs rise sharply.
Market participants were looking ahead to the outcome of the ECB’s policy meeting, amid pressure on policymakers to resume the bank’s bond purchase program in order to ease pressure on the borrowing costs of vulnerable peripheral euro zone economies.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s disappointing U.S. private sector employment data fanned fears that the economic recovery is losing momentum, ahead of a government report on nonfarm payrolls on Friday, after government data in March showed a slowdown in hiring.
In the U.K., a report showed that service sector activity expanded at a slower rate than expected in April, falling to the lowest level since November, but the report indicated that the overall outlook remained positive.
The services purchasing managers index fell to 53.3 in April, from 55.3 the previous month, worse than expectations for a decline to 54.6.
Earlier Thursday, industry data showed that U.K. house prices fell unexpectedly in April.
Mortgage lender Nationwide said house prices dropped by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, following March’s steep 1% drop and were 0.9% lower year-on-year. Analysts had expected house prices to rise by 0.5% last month.
The pound was hovering just below a 22-month high against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.04% to hit 0.8118.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on U.S. service sector growth.
GBP/USD hit 1.6163 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6178, slipping 0.13%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6108, the low of April 24 and resistance at 1.6238, Wednesday’s high.
Investors remained cautious after an auction of Spanish government debt met with solid investor demand but saw the country’s short-term borrowing costs rise sharply.
Market participants were looking ahead to the outcome of the ECB’s policy meeting, amid pressure on policymakers to resume the bank’s bond purchase program in order to ease pressure on the borrowing costs of vulnerable peripheral euro zone economies.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s disappointing U.S. private sector employment data fanned fears that the economic recovery is losing momentum, ahead of a government report on nonfarm payrolls on Friday, after government data in March showed a slowdown in hiring.
In the U.K., a report showed that service sector activity expanded at a slower rate than expected in April, falling to the lowest level since November, but the report indicated that the overall outlook remained positive.
The services purchasing managers index fell to 53.3 in April, from 55.3 the previous month, worse than expectations for a decline to 54.6.
Earlier Thursday, industry data showed that U.K. house prices fell unexpectedly in April.
Mortgage lender Nationwide said house prices dropped by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, following March’s steep 1% drop and were 0.9% lower year-on-year. Analysts had expected house prices to rise by 0.5% last month.
The pound was hovering just below a 22-month high against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.04% to hit 0.8118.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on U.S. service sector growth.