The Pound Sterling is recovering steadily from last week's decline, while the US Dollar remains close to a 2-week peak following last Friday's upbeat economic data. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis recently reported that annualized growth remained flat at 2.1% in the third quarter, as analysts had predicted. Meanwhile, personal income rose to 0.5% in November (month-over-month) against a forecast of 0.3% and a previous reading of 0.1% (which was revised upward from 0%). Trade in the common currency Euro was generally lackluster with a light economic calendar for the week ahead, which contains the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays.
As of 11:28 am in London, the GBP/USD was trading lower at $1.2974, a loss of 0.1846%; the pair is moving off the session peak of $1.30327 while the low was recorded at $1.29643. The EUR/USD was trading at $1.1079, up 0.0153%, while the pair has ranged from a trough of $1.10726 to a high of $1.10897 in today's session. The EUR/GBP was higher at 0.8539 Pence, up 0.1842%. off the session high of 0.85508 Pence.
Aussie/Kiwi Higher on Improved Trade Outlook
The US Dollar continues to be supported on optimism that the trade talks between Beijing and Washington will continue to be fruitful. Earlier in the month, an interim trade agreement was reached which helped to lift the greenback as well as currencies linked to the Chinese economy. Specifically, both the Kiwi and Aussie Dollars have benefited from the trade news, with the AUD/USD higher at $0.6925, a gain of 0.3231%, and the NZD/USD up 0.2742% and trading at $0.6619.