Forexpros – The pound pulled back from an eight-month high against the U.S. dollar on Monday, amid ongoing Spanish debt concerns but remained supported as expectations for new easing steps by the Federal Reserve continued to weigh on the greenback.

GBP/USD hit 1.6254 during European afternoon trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6253, inching down 0.07%.

Cable was likely to find support at 1.6157, the low of April 26 and resistance at 1.6300, the day’s high and an eight-month high.

Sentiment came under pressure after official data confirmed that the Spain’s economy entered a recession in the first quarter, with gross domestic product contracting by 0.3% in the three months to March and 0.4% year-on-year.

The data came after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s announced widespread credit ratings downgrades on Spain’s troubled banking sector, following a two notch downgrade of the country’s sovereign credit rating last week.

Meanwhile, expectations for further stimulus measures by the Fed weighed on the greenback after the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday that gross domestic product expanded at a rate of 2.2% in the three months to March, below expectations for a 2.5% increase.

Elsewhere, the pound was trading close to a 22-month high against the euro with EUR/GBP shedding 0.21%, to hit 0.8131.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on core personal consumption expenditures price inflation and personal spending, as well as a report on business activity in Chicago.

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