The Pound has remained in the ascendancy against the majority of the 16-most actively traded currencies this morning.
The Pound Euro exchange rate is 0.046% higher on the hour with 1 GBP = 1.2056 EUR at 3 PM in London.
The Pound Dollar exchange rate is 0.075% lower on the hour with 1 GBP = 1.5931 USD.
The Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate is 0.337% lower with 1 GBP = 1.7379 AUD.
"The British Pound has remained in the ascendancy against the majority of the 16-most actively traded currencies this morning, although the UK currency seems to be losing a bit of momentum against the Euro and the U.S Dollar," says Adam Solomon at foreign exchange brokers Tor FX.
Simon Denham at spread betting providers Capital Spreads says:
"There are some pretty hefty resistance levels just above current prices at 1.5975/90 in Cable and 1.3260/80 for the Euro we seem to have paused for breathe for the last 24 hours but whichever of the Major currencies is currently showing signs of strength versus the Dollar seems to eventually attract the others to perform similarly.
Sterling hit a high of $1.5969 against the U.S Dollar yesterday, just short of the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level from the move that begun in August 2009.
"A significant break above this level could trigger an extended upward move towards $1.7044, but Dollar buyers would be well placed to consider the benefit of a stop order to protect against a failed break of this level," says Solomon.
The British Pound has traded close to the six month high today and also remained largely unchanged at 1.2050 versus the Euro, after Lloyds Banking Group returned to profit for the first time in almost two years and UK house prices unexpectedly rose in July.
The Pound began the day on a negative platform, as a report from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply showed that growth in UK service industries unexpectedly slowed to the lowest in 13 months in July.
The data reinforces some suggestions that the robust second quarter growth will be the peak of the UK economic recovery. The Pound also came under near-term pressure, as some technical indicators suggested that the currency has appreciated too quickly.
