Forex Pros — The pound erased losses against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, climbing to a daily high, boosted by stronger-than-expected data on the U.K. services sector.
GBP/USD clawed back up from 1.5990, the pair’s lowest since Friday, to hit 1.6119 during European afternoon trade, gaining 0.23%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5910, the low of June 28 and a five-month low and resistance at 1.6117, the high of June 30 and a six-day high.
The Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index eased up to 53.9 last month from a three-month low of 53.8 in May. Analysts had expected the index to dip to 53.6.
However the details of the PMI survey painted a subdued picture. Employment was static, as it has been for the past year, new business growth slowed and confidence slipped to its lowest since October.
Earlier in the day, the pound fell as speculation over a rate hike by China weighed on risk appetite after the People’s Bank of China said in a statement Monday that inflationary pressures “are still high” while the economy continues to grow at a steady and relatively fast pace.
The pound was also higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.66% to hit 0.8979.
Later Tuesday, the U.S. was to publish government data on factory orders.
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