The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday, as traders eye fourth quarter U.K. GDP data due shortly.

Comments from Bank of England policymaker Kristin Forbes on Monday that the robust growth in the U.S. and cheaper oil could benefit consumption and investment growth, which will strengthen the case for raising the interest rate from a record low 0.50 percent, earlier than expected.

The U.K. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by the middle of 2016.

Forbes also said that the economy may respond in unexpected ways even as the BoE's exit strategy involves raising rates slowly and incrementally. When the change comes, policymakers will be careful in communicating it and consider the risks, she added.

Traders also await the release of preliminary fourth quarter U.K. GDP data due at 4:30 am ET. The economy is forecast to expand 0.6 percent sequentially,slower than the 0.7 percent rise in the previous quarter. Annually, GDP is expected to grow 2.8 percent after the 2.6 percent increase in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded higher following the parliamentary elections in Greece over the weekend. The leftist Syriza party joined hands with the Greek Independents to form an anti-bailout coalition government. While Greek Prime Minister-elect Alexis Tsipras has a mandate to rework the terms of a 240-billion euros bailout program, market participants seem to believe that Greece is less inclined to exit the euro zone.

Monday, the pound rose 0.34 percent against the euro, 0.44 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.23 percent against the yen and 3.10 percent against the Swiss franc.

In the Asian trading today, the pound rose to 5-day highs of 1.5114 against the U.S. dollar and 179.02 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.5056 and 178.58, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.53 against the greenback and 181.18 against the yen.

Against the euro, the pound edged up to 0.7434 from an early low of 0.7457. The pound is likely to find resistance around the 0.73 area.

The pound, which ended yesterday's deals at 1.3610 against the Swiss franc, strengthened to nearly a 2-week high of 1.3668. On the upside, 1.56 is seen as the next resistance level for the pound. Looking ahead, U.S. durable goods order and home sales for December, U.S. S&P/ Case-Shiller home price index for November, U.S. Richmond manufacturing index, Markit's U.S. flash services PMI for January and the Conference Board's consumer confidence index, also for January are due to be released in New York session.

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