Forexpros – The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as expectations that Greece was moving closer to a deal to secure a bailout and avert a default supported market sentiment.
GBP/USD hit 1.5849 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5839, gaining 0.13%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5749, the low of February 3 and resistance at 1.5928, Wednesday’s high and a 12-week high.
Following talks on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said political leaders had reached an agreement in principle on austerity measures required for the country to secure its next aid package, but the issue of proposed pension cuts was unresolved.
Mr. Papademos said discussions on the issue with international lenders would continue, in the hope of reaching an agreement ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later Thursday.
European Union officials have said a final agreement the bailout much be approved by February 15, in order to avert a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to the Bank of England’s policy decision later in the day, amid expectations that policymakers will implement a further GBP50 billion of quantitative easing in order to shore up growth in the faltering U.K. economy.
The pound was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP up 0.11% to hit 0.8392.
Also Thursday, the U.K. was to release official data on manufacturing production and the trade balance, while the U.S. was to produce government data on initial jobless claims. In addition, the European Central Bank was to announce its benchmark interest rate.
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