Forexpros – The pound was slightly lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as concerns over a possible U.S. default mounted after debt talks between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders broke down over the weekend.
GBP/USD hit 1.6270 during early European trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6293, dipping 0.04%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6120, the low of July 21 and resistance at 1.6382, the high of June 15.
The U.S. Senate rejected a USD3 trillion deficit reduction plan on Friday, adding to fears over a potential downgrade or default ahead of the August 2 deadline to raise the country’s USD14.3 trillion debt ceiling.
Both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s have placed their credit ratings on U.S. debt on review for a potential downgrade.
Also Monday, ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Greece by three notches to Ca, just one notch above default, saying the new aid package set a negative precedent for the creditors of other indebted nations.
The pound was also fractionally lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.06% to hit 0.8814.
Later in the day, the U.K. was to publish industry data on mortgage approvals.