Pound Weakens As U.K. Mortgage Approvals Fall To Near 2-year Low
September 29 2016 - 02:28AM
RTTF2
The pound declined against its major counterparts in European
deals on Thursday, after data showed that U.K. mortgage approvals
fell in August to their lowest level since November 2014.
Data from the Bank of England showed that U.K. mortgage
approvals fell to 60,058 in August.
This follows approvals of 60,900 in July and were down from
consensus forecasts for 60,200.
Meanwhile, lending secured on dwellings increased by GBP 2.9
billion in August from last month's GBP 2.6 billion.
The BoE said consumer credit grew by 1.574 billion pounds,
higher than expectations for an increase of 1.4 billion pounds.
Meanwhile, European stocks are trading higher, after the OPEC
surprised market participants with a preliminary deal to curb
output.
The final deal to reduce oil production modestly would be taken
at the next formal meeting, set to be held in Vienna on November
30.
The pound was trading in a positive territory in the Asian
session, amid risk appetite on the back of the OPEC deal.
The pound, having advanced to an 8-day high of 132.44 against
the Japanese yen at 2:30 am ET, retreated to 131.79 following the
data. The pound-yen pair may locate support around the 128.5
zone.
Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed
that Japan's retail sales declined 1.1 percent on month in
August.
That missed forecasts for a decline of 0.8 percent following the
upwardly revised 1.5 percent increase in July.
The pound reversed from an early Asian session's 6-day high of
1.2676 against the Swiss franc, edging lower to 1.2613. The pound
is seen finding support around the 1.24 mark.
Following an advance to a 5-day high of 1.3057 against the
greenback at 7:00 pm ET, the pound weakened to 1.2988. On the
downside, 1.285 is possibly seen as the next support level for the
pound.
The pound that came off from an early high of 0.8593 against the
euro dropped to 0.8639. The next possible support for the pound may
be found around the 0.88 zone.
Data from the Federal Labor Agency showed that German
unemployment increased unexpectedly in September.
The number of people out of work increased by 1,000 to 2.68
million, confounding expectations for a decrease of 5,000.
Looking ahead, the German flash CPI data for September, U.S.
final GDP data for the first estimate, U.S. advance goods trade
balance and pending homes sales, both for August, and U.S. weekly
jobless claims for the week ended September 24 are slated for
release in the New York session.
At 8:50 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis
Lockhart is expected to speak before the 2016 Future of Florida
Forum, in Orlando, United States.
At 9:00 am ET, Bank of England MPC Member Kristin Forbes will
participate in a panel discussion at the European Central Bank
annual research conference, in Frankfurt.
At 10:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell will
deliver a speech titled "Trends in Community Bank Performance Over
the Past 20 Years" at the Community Banking Research and Policy
Conference, in St. Louis.
At the same time, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi
and Vice President Vitor Constancio are expected to speak at the
First ECB Annual Research Conference in Frankfurt.
At 2:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President
Neel Kashkari participates in Town Hall on economic development in
Rapid City and surrounding areas, in South Dakota.
At 4:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is expected to
speak at the Minority Bankers Forum in Kansas City, via
satellite.
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