The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Monday, after data showed that the British manufacturing growth quickened unexpectedly at the start of the year to the strongest level in three months.
Data from Markit Economics showed that the Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing rose to 52.9 in January from 52.1 in December. Economists had expected the index to fall to 51.8.
At the same time, data from the Bank of England showed that U.K. mortgage approvals rose unexpectedly to 70,837 in December from 70,424 in November. This was the highest since August 2015. Economists had forecast approvals to fall to 69,600 in December.
In the Asian session today, the pound held steady against its major rivals.
In the early European trading, the pound rose to 1.4317 against the U.S. dollar and 173.53 against the yen, from early lows of 1.4228 and 172.42, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.46 against the greenback and 178.00 against the yen.
Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the pound edged up to 0.7575 and 1.4624 from early lows of 0.7614 and 1.4543, respectively. The pound may test resistance around 0.74 against the euro and 1.49 against the franc.
Looking ahead, U.S. personal income and spending data for December, U.S. construction spending for December and U.S. and Canada’s flash manufacturing PMI for January are slated for release in the New York session.
At 11:00 am ET, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will testify about the 2015 ECB Annual Report before the European Parliament, in Strasbourg.
Federal Reserve Governor Stanley Fischer is scheduled to speak about the U.S. economy and monetary policy at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York at 1 pm ET.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com