Forexpros – The pound was trading close to an eight-day low against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as fresh uncertainty over the outlook for the euro zone following weekend election results in Greece and France supported safe haven demand.
GBP/USD hit 1.6115 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since April 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6138, dipping 0.05%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6080, the low of April 25 and resistance at 1.6201, Friday’s high.
In Greece, neither of the two pro-bailout parties secured enough votes to form a majority in parliament, as voters favored smaller parties who campaigned against the harsh government austerity program, throwing the future of the country’s international bailout agreement into doubt.
Meanwhile, in France President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by socialist candidate Fran?ois Hollande, who has said he wants to renegotiate the euro zone fiscal pact in order to stimulate growth in the region.
Against the euro, the pound climbed to a three-and-a-half year high, with EUR/GBP dropping to 0.8036, before easing back to 0.8067, still down 0.42% on the day.
Later Monday, the euro zone was to publish a report on investor confidence, while Germany was to publish official data on factory orders. Meanwhile, markets in the U.K. were to remain closed for a bank holiday.
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