Pound Rises Amid Risk Appetite
February 20 2017 - 12:16AM
RTTF2
The British pound strengthened against the other major
currencies in the early European session on Monday amid risk
appetite, although trading volumes remained thin on a light day on
the economic front and amid the Presidents Day holiday in the U.S.
Meanwhile, investors fretted about the upcoming French
elections.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is currently up 0.04 percent or 2.68
points at 7,302, France's CAC 40 index is up 0.18 percent or 8.88
points at 4,876 and Germany's DAX is up 0.55 percent or 64.63
points at 11,821.
A lack of clarity on the timing and scope of promised pro-growth
policies from the Trump administration and the probability of a
U.S. rate hike as early as March kept a lid on gains across the
region.
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its last
monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, with investors looking for
further clues on Fed's assessment of the economic conditions and
the timing of the next rate hike.
In the Asian trading today, the pound held steady against its
major rivals.
In the European trading, the pound rose to 4-day highs of 0.8512
against the euro and 1.2517 against the Swiss franc, from early
lows of 0.8553 and 1.2429, respectively. If the pound extends its
uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.83 against the
euro and 1.27 against the franc.
Against the U.S. dollar and the yen, the pound advanced to
1.2482 and 141.26 from early lows of 1.2404 and 140.01,
respectively. The pound may test resistance around 1.26 against the
greenback and 144.00 against the yen.
Looking ahead, Canada wholesales data for December and Eurozone
consumer Confidence index are due to be released in the New York
session.
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