Forex - GBP/USD pushes higher ahead of Fed minutes, Bernanke

Investing.com - The pound pushed higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as investors eyed the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting, due to be released later in the day. GBP/USD hit 1.4923 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4919, gaining 0.36%. Cable was likely to find support at 1.4813, Tuesday's low and a three-year low and resistance at 1.5055, the high of July 5. Investors trimmed back expectations that the Fed will soon start to unwind stimulus measures ahead of the central bank's June meeting minutes and a closely watched speech by Ben Bernanke later Wednesday. The pound dropped to its lowest since June 2010 against the dollar on Tuesday after unexpectedly weak U.K. manufacturing data increased the likelihood of further easing by the Bank of England.Last week the BoE indicated that interest rates are likely to remain at record low levels, given weakness in the U.K.'s economic recovery. Meanwhile, market sentiment found some support after weak Chinese trade data for June prompted speculation over the possibility of further monetary easing by Beijing.Official data earlier showed that Chinese exports fell unexpectedly last month, fuelling concerns over a slowdown in global demand. Imports were also lower, indicating that domestic demand was weakening. Sterling was steady against the euro with EUR/GBP easing up 0.07%, to hit 0.8602. Sentiment on the euro remained fragile after a senior European Central Bank policymaker said Tuesday that the bank's forward guidance on interest rates extended beyond 12 months.The comments came after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week that rates would remain at low levels for an 'extended' period, amid ongoing weakness in the euro zone economy.
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