Forex Pros – The pound surged to a fresh 10-week high against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after a flurry of mixed U.S. economic data weighed on the dollar. GBP/USD hit 1.5394 during European afternoon trade, the pair's highest since April 30; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.536, gaining 0.6%. The pair was likely to find support at 1.5172, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.5483, the high of April 27. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell to 429K, after declining a revised 454K in the previous week. Analysts had expected a decline of 449K last week. Meanwhile, separate reports showed that producer prices fell more than expected in June as food prices dropped 2.2% and the New York Fed's Empire State survey revealed that manufacturing activity grew in the region in July, but at a much slower pace than the month before. Meanwhile, the pound was sown against the euro, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.46% to hit 0.8386. Also Thursday, official data showed the U.S. Philadelphia manufacturing index fell unexpectedly in July, down for the second consecutive month.

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