Forexpros – The pound was marginally higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, ahead of U.K. data on second quarter economic growth, while concerns over the escalating debt crisis in the euro zone continued to weigh on market sentiment.
GBP/USD hit 1.5541 during early European trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5529, gaining 0.14%.
Cable was likely to find short-term support at 1.5485, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.5579, the high of July 13.
The U.K. data was widely expected to show that the economy remained in a recession in the three months to June, which would extend Britain’s recession into a third quarter.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone concerns that Spain will be the next state to require a full-scale sovereign bailout mounted after the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds touched a euro-era high of 7.70%, well above the 7% threshold widely considered unsustainable in the long term.
Data on Tuesday showing that manufacturing activity in Germany slowed to the lowest level in more than three years in July indicated that core euro zone economies are being affected by the crisis.
The pound was hovering close to a three-and-a-half-year high against the euro, with EUR/GBP up 0.17% to 0.7791.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on new home sales, as well as a report on crude oil stockpiles.
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