Investing.com - The pound rose against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as demand for the greenback weakened ahead of a final report on U.S. first quarter growth, due to be released later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.5803 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5796, gaining 0.42%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5622, the low of June 17 and resistance at 1.5911, the high of June 22.
The dollar had found support after the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that new home sales jumped by 2.2% to 546,000 units last month, hitting the highest level since February 2008.
A separate report showed that total U.S. durable goods orders, which include transportation items, declined by 1.8% last month, while core durable goods orders inched up by 0.5% in May, missing forecasts for an increase of 0.6%.
Investors were eyeing an upcoming report on first-quarter U.S. growth due later Wednesday for further indications on the timing of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The safe-haven U.S. dollar also strengthened after euro zone finance ministers failed to reach agreement over Greece’s bailout at an emergency meeting on Monday.
Fresh talks were scheduled on Thursday, leaving just 48 hours for a detailed agreement to be finalized.
Sterling was steady against the euro, with EUR/GBP at 0.7099.
Earlier Wednesday, data showed that German business confidence fell to a four-month low in June, dampening optimism over the health of the euro zone’s largest economy.
In a report, the German research institute, Ifo said its Business Climate Index fell to 107.4 this month, down from a reading of 108.5 in May and missing forecasts for 108.1.