Forexpros – The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as investors eyed a Spanish debt auction and a speech by the European Central Bank president later in the day amid sustained concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone.
GBP/USD hit 1.5498 during European morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5478, edging up 0.08%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5408, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.5566, the high of November 24.
Spain was aiming to sell EUR3.5 billion of debt maturing in 2016, 2020 and 2021 later Thursday.
Sentiment has been undermined this week, after last Friday’s European Union summit failed to result in any decisive measures to tackle the debt crisis in the region, sparking fears over mass ratings cuts across the euro zone.
Market sentiment was also hit after Italy’s Treasury sold EUR3 billion of five-year government bonds on Wednesday, at an average yield of 6.47%, a euro era high, after paying 6.29% at a similar auction in November.
Elsewhere, sterling was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP rising 0.03%, to hit 0.8397.
Later in the day, the U.K. was to publish reports on consumer price inflation and house price inflation.
The U.S. was also to produce its weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as government data on producer price inflation and manufacturing activity in Philadelphia and New York State.
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