Investing.com - The euro erased gains against the pound on Monday, retreating from the session high after unexpectedly strong U.K. manufacturing data, while weak euro zone unemployment data also weighed.
EUR/GBP pulled away from 0.8350 the session high to hit 0.8322 during European morning trade, dipping 0.04%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8998, the low of March 22 and resistance at 0.8359, Friday’s high.
The pound strengthened broadly after a report showing that U.K. manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest rate in 10 months in March.
The U.K. manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 52.1 last month from an upwardly revised 51.5 in February, confounding analysts' expectations for a drop to 50.5.
The data eased concerns that the Bank of England will implement another round of monetary stimulus, ahead of the bank’s policy meeting later in the week.
Meanwhile, the euro came under pressure after official data showed that the unemployment rate in the euro zone ticked up to a record high of 10.8% in February from 10.7% the previous month, broadly in line with expectations.
On Friday, euro zone finance ministers agreed to strengthen the bloc’s debt firewall, but concerns remained over whether the measures would be enough to prevent contagion to Spain and Italy.
The euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.10% to hit 1.3354.
Later Monday, the Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on U.S. manufacturing activity.
EUR/GBP pulled away from 0.8350 the session high to hit 0.8322 during European morning trade, dipping 0.04%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8998, the low of March 22 and resistance at 0.8359, Friday’s high.
The pound strengthened broadly after a report showing that U.K. manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest rate in 10 months in March.
The U.K. manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 52.1 last month from an upwardly revised 51.5 in February, confounding analysts' expectations for a drop to 50.5.
The data eased concerns that the Bank of England will implement another round of monetary stimulus, ahead of the bank’s policy meeting later in the week.
Meanwhile, the euro came under pressure after official data showed that the unemployment rate in the euro zone ticked up to a record high of 10.8% in February from 10.7% the previous month, broadly in line with expectations.
On Friday, euro zone finance ministers agreed to strengthen the bloc’s debt firewall, but concerns remained over whether the measures would be enough to prevent contagion to Spain and Italy.
The euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.10% to hit 1.3354.
Later Monday, the Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on U.S. manufacturing activity.