Pound Strengthens Against Majors

In early European deals on Friday, the British pound rose against other major currencies amid eased concerns about global growth.

Bank of England policymaker Paul Fisher said that he is keeping an open mind on yet another round of quantitative easing, given the ongoing economic uncertainty. "At this moment in time I would have a completely open mind going into the next round as to whether we would want to do more QE or not," Fisher said in an interview to City A.M. published today.

In economic news, the U.K. economy contracted in the fourth quarter for the first time in a year, in line with previous estimate, second estimate released by the Office for National Statistics showed.

Gross domestic product dropped 0.2 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, as initially estimated. Meanwhile, the third quarter growth was revised down to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent.

The pound is now trading at a 2-day high of 1.5800 against the dollar, compared to yesterday's close of 1.5745. On the upside, 1.582 is seen as the next target level for the pound.

Against the Japanese yen, the pound is currently trading at a fresh 4-month high of 127.30. The next upside target level for the pound-yen pair is seen at 128.0. At yesterday's close, the pair was quoted at 125.98.

The pound that slipped to fresh multi-month lows of 0.8508 against the euro and 1.4181 against the franc at 2:40 am ET rebounded thereafter. At present, the pound is worth 0.8476 against the euro and 1.4234 against the franc. If the pound gains further, it may likely target 0.846 against the euro and 1.425 against the franc. The euro-pound and the pound-franc pairs were worth 0.8494 and 1.4196, respectively at Thursday's close.