Forexpros – The pound pushed higher against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as hopes that European leaders can reach an agreement to resolve the debt crisis in the region boosted the outlook for riskier assets. GBP/USD hit 1.5526 during European morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5524, gaining 0.55%. Cable was likely to find support at 1.5423, Friday’s low and a seven-week low and resistance at 1.5655, last Wednesday’s high. Market sentiment was boosted by hopes that European Union leaders would be able to reach an agreement on a fiscal pact to halt the spread of the region’s debt crisis ahead of an EU summit early next month. The pact, if agreed, would make budget discipline legally binding and enforceable by European authorities and would give the European Central Bank more scope to undertake large scale bond purchases. Earlier in the day, Moody's Investors Service warned that the rapid escalation of the euro zone sovereign and banking crisis was threatening the credit ratings of all European government bonds. Meanwhile, the pound was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.33% to hit 0.8602. Later in the day, the U.K. was to publish industry data on retail sales, while the U.S. was to release official data on new home sales.

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