Investing.com - The pound slipped lower against the dollar on Tuesday, amid cautious optimism that a political deadlock in the U.S. could be resolved in time to avert a debt default.
GBP/USD hit 1.6044 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6046, sliding 0.30%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6004, the low of October 10 and resistance at 1.6098, the session high.
President Barack Obama repeated Monday that he is willing to negotiate with congressional Republicans on a range of topics, including healthcare and energy policy, but only after the government is reopened.
President Obama also called on Congress to raise the government borrowing limit ahead of the October 17 deadline, the date which the Treasury Department has estimated the U.S. could risk a default.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday the House will not support bills to fully reopen the government or raise the U.S. debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to talks about spending cuts.
Elsewhere, data released on Tuesday showed that China’s HSBC services purchasing managers’ index dipped to 52.4 from August's reading of 52.8, but remained well above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction.
Sterling was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.16% to 0.8451.
The International Monetary Fund was due to release its latest World Economic Outlook later in the day. In the euro zone, Germany was to publish data on factory orders.
