Forexpros – The euro was almost unchanged against the pound on Wednesday, amid sustained concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis as the region’s finance ministers prepared to meet for a second day of talks.
EUR/GBP hit 0.8528 during European morning trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8534, inching down 0.04%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8518, the low of November 18 and resistance at 0.8574, the high of November 15.
On Tuesday, euro zone finance ministers agreed on a plan to expand the region’s bailout fund, but said its capacity to assist indebted nations would not be as large as initially hoped.
Ahead of a second day of talks, European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said that the region now faces a crucial 10 days to save the single currency bloc.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that the rate of consumer price inflation in the single currency bloc remained unchanged at 3% for the third straight month in November, indicating that the European Central Bank may have to hold off on rate cuts in the coming months.
A separate report showed that unemployment in the euro zone ticked up to 10.3% last month from 10.2% in September.
In the U.K., a report by Gfk showed that consumer confidence edged up slightly in November, but remained close to a two-year low and the outlook remains downbeat.
The data came one day after Chancellor George Osborne said the U.K. economy was now expected to grow just 0.7% in 2012, down from a March budget forecast of 2.5% growth.
Elsewhere, sterling was sharply lower against the U.S. dollar with GBP/USD shedding 0.06%, to trade at 1.5590.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was also to release a report on non-farm payrolls compiled by payroll processing firm ADP, as well as data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area and pending home sales.
Forexpros
