FRX: Stronger pound close to 13-month peak against dollar
Forexpros - The pound was trading close to a 13-month high against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as broad concerns over the long running debt crisis in the euro zone continued to dominate market sentiment.
GBP/USD hit 1.6267 during European afternoon trade, the pair's highest since Friday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6253, gaining 0.23%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6162, the low of September 20 and resistance at 1.6308, Friday's high and a 13-month high.
Investors remained cautious following German media reports that lawyers for Germany's central bank are examining the legality of the European Central Bank's bond purchasing program, setting the stage for a possible legal challenge.
Elsewhere, Spain saw borrowing costs rise at an auction of short-term debt earlier, reflecting lingering uncertainty over whether Madrid will request a full scale sovereign bailout.
Meanwhile, concerns over Greece continued to weigh, as Athens prepared to present a package of spending cuts at the end of this week, amid fears that the country’s budget shortfall could be larger than expected.
Earlier Tuesday, senior Bank of England policymaker Paul Fisher said that the bond buying scheme announced by the ECB earlier this month appears to have calmed financial markets and could lay the foundations to resolve the region's debt crisis.
The pound remained well supported amid speculation over a EUR3.3 billion farm subsidy payment due to be made to U.K. farmers later this week by the European Union.
The pound was little changed against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02% to 0.7970.
Later in the session, ECB President Mario Draghi was to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
In addition, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation as well as a report on consumer confidence.