Investing.com - The pound ticked up and down between small gains and losses against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, following the release of a flurry of broadly better-than-expected U.S. data as the dollar remained supported by diminished expectations for more monetary easing.
GBP/USD hit 1.5635 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5676, inching up 0.01%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5602, the low of March 12 and a five-week low and resistance at 1.5743, Wednesday’s high.
The Department of Labor said number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 351,000, beating expectations for a decline to 356,000.
Elsewhere, the New York Federal Reserve said its index of manufacturing conditions improved unexpectedly in March, climbing to the highest level since June 2010.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose slightly less-than-expected in February, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, below expectations for a 0.5% gain, while core producer prices rose 0.2% last month, in line with expectations.
The data underlined the view that the U.S. economic recovery is gathering momentum, after the Federal Reserve upgraded its outlook on the economy earlier this week, causing investors to trim back expectations for a third round of quantitative easing.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the pound remained soft after ratings agency Fitch placed the U.K.’s triple-A credit rating on negative outlook, one week ahead of the unveiling of the country’s annual budget.
Fitch said that there was a slightly greater than 50% chance that the U.K.’s triple-A rating could be downgraded in the next two years, if the government eases back on implementing harsh austerity measures.
The pound was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP adding 0.21% to hit 0.8331.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
GBP/USD hit 1.5635 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5676, inching up 0.01%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5602, the low of March 12 and a five-week low and resistance at 1.5743, Wednesday’s high.
The Department of Labor said number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 351,000, beating expectations for a decline to 356,000.
Elsewhere, the New York Federal Reserve said its index of manufacturing conditions improved unexpectedly in March, climbing to the highest level since June 2010.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose slightly less-than-expected in February, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, below expectations for a 0.5% gain, while core producer prices rose 0.2% last month, in line with expectations.
The data underlined the view that the U.S. economic recovery is gathering momentum, after the Federal Reserve upgraded its outlook on the economy earlier this week, causing investors to trim back expectations for a third round of quantitative easing.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the pound remained soft after ratings agency Fitch placed the U.K.’s triple-A credit rating on negative outlook, one week ahead of the unveiling of the country’s annual budget.
Fitch said that there was a slightly greater than 50% chance that the U.K.’s triple-A rating could be downgraded in the next two years, if the government eases back on implementing harsh austerity measures.
The pound was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP adding 0.21% to hit 0.8331.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.