Pound higher vs dollar as demand for greenback weakens ahead of final GDP
On Wednesday the pound climbed against its U.S. peer, as demand for
the greenback weakened ahead of a final report on U.S. first quarter
growth, due to be released later in the day.
However, yesterday's strong U.S. data buoyed the greenback.
Cable reached 1.5772 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5796, gaining 0.28%.
Market players will now await an upcoming report on first-quarter U.S. growth due later in the global trade for further cues on the timing of the Fed rate liftoff.
The dollar had been backed yesterday after the U.S. Commerce Department said that new home sales rose by 2.2% to 546,000 units in May, hitting the highest level since February 2008.
Another report signaled that total U.S. durable goods orders, which include transportation items, dipped by 1.8% in May, while core durable goods orders climbed by 0.5% in May, below hopes for an increase of 0.6%.
The euro was stable, as investors were noticing signs of progress in the negotiations between Greece and its creditors over a fresh bailout package.
EUR/USD rose 0.38% to trade at 1.1210.
Around noon local time Wednesday, or 6 a.m. Eastern Time, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to meet European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, the International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels. They will discuss reform plans submitted by Athens on Monday.
The Eurogroup of finance ministers will meet at 7 p.m. Brussels time, or 1 p.m. EST.
Earlier in the eurozone, data signaled that German business confidence fell to a four-month low in June, undermining hopes for strong pickup of the euro zone’s largest economy.
