Forexpros - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as a string of mixed euro zone data dampened demand for risk-related assets, while better-than-expected economic reports from the U.S. lent support to the greenback.
GBP/USD hit 1.5672 during U.S. morning trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5674, easing 0.05%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5604, the low of August 9 and resistance at 1.5767, the high of July 27.
Markets were jittery after Eurostat said that the euro zone’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in the three months to June, in line with expectations, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 0.4%.
The report came after official data showed that Germany’s economy expanded by 0.3% in the second quarter, slightly better than expectations for 0.2% growth, and France’s economy stagnated in the second quarter, beating expectations for a 0.1% contraction.
Meanwhile, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment came in at minus 25.5 for August; down from July’s reading of minus 19.6 and defying expectations for a reading of minus 19.3.
In the U.S., the Commerce Department said retail sales jumped 0.8% last month, after a 0.7% drop in June, surpassing expectations for a 0.3% increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, rose 0.8%, more than the expected 0.4% increase, after a 0.8% decline in June.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer prices rose more-than-expected in July, adding 0.3%, against expectations for a 0.2% rise.
The pound was also steady against the greenback with EUR/GBP inching down 0.04%, to hit 0.7860.
Earlier Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics said the rate of consumer price inflation in the U.K. accelerated to a seasonally adjusted 2.6% in July from 2.4% the previous month. Analysts had expected CPI to ease slightly to 2.3%.
Month-over-month, consumer price inflation rose 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.1% decline, after falling 0.4% in June.
