Pound Slides As U.K. Economic Growth Eases As Estimated
28 Mai 2015 - 11:27AM
RTTF2
The British pound weakened against the other major currencies in
the early European session on Thursday, after official data
confirmed that U.K. economy grew at a slower pace in the first
quarter.
The second estimates published by the Office for National
Statistics showed that the U.K. gross domestic product expanded 0.3
percent in the first quarter, which was weaker than the 0.6 percent
seen a quarter ago. This was the slowest growth since the fourth
quarter of 2012.
On a yearly basis, GDP growth eased to 2.4 percent from 3
percent in the previous quarter. Both sequential and annual growth
figures came in line with the initial estimate published on April
28.
Another report from the ONS showed that services output climbed
2.8 percent in March from a year ago. Month-on-month, services
output edged up 0.1 percent, following a 0.3 percent rise in
February.
Meanwhile, the European stocks fell amid Greek concerns that the
country is unlikely to fulfill its debt payment due next week. The
U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is currently down 0.00 percent or 0.14 points
at 7,033, France's CAC 40 index is down 0.44 percent or 22.64
points at 5,159 and Germany's DAX is down 0.18 percent or 21.11
points at 11,750. In the Asian trading today, the Pound held steady
against its major rivals.
In the European trading now, the pound fell to a 1-week low of
1.4522 against the Swiss franc and a 6-day low of 0.7124 against
the euro, from early highs of 1.4589 and 0.7096, respectively. If
the pound extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support
around 1.41 against the franc and 0.73 against the euro.
Pulling away from an early 7-year high of 190.69 against the
yen, the pound slid to 190.05. On the downside, 190.05 against the
yen is seen as the next support level for the pound.
Against the U.S. dollar, the pound edged down to 1.5334 from an
early high of 1.5385. The pound may test support near the 1.51
region.
Looking ahead, Canada industrial product and raw material price
indices for April, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended
Mar 23 and U.S. pending home sales data for April are slated for
release in the New York session.
At 7:00 am ET, ECB board member Yves Mersch is expected to speak
at the Bulgarian Authorities 2015 IMF/World Bank Constituency
Meetings in Sofia, Bulgaria.
At 2:45 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President
Narayana Kocherlakota will deliver a speech on monetary policy
before a Community Leader Lunch hosted by the Helena Branch of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in Helena, Montana.
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