Pound Advances As U.K. 3Q GDP Expands More Than Forecast

The British pound climbed against the other major currencies in the early European session on Thursday, after data showed that the U.K. economy expanded more than expected in the third quarter.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the U.K. gross domestic product climbed 0.5 percent sequentially in third quarter, faster than the expected growth of 0.3 percent. Nonetheless, the pace of expansion eased from 0.7 percent in the second quarter.

On a yearly basis, GDP advanced 2.3 percent compared to the expected growth of 2.1 percent.

This was the first release of GDP covering a full quarter of data following the EU referendum.

Another report showed that the index of services grew 3.2 percent in August from prior year. On a monthly basis, services output gained 0.2 percent in August.

Meanwhile, European stocks are trading lower, as oil price weakness and mixed earnings reports overshadowed encouraging U.K.GDP data. In the Asian trading today, the pound held steady against its major rivals. In the European trading, the pound rose to nearly a 3-week high of 128.42 against the yen and a 1-week high of 1.2272 against the U.S. dollar, from early lows of 127.42 and 1.2200, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 132.00 against the yen and 1.26 against the greenback.

Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the pound advanced to 2-day highs of 0.8893 and 1.2183 from early lows of 0.8941 and 1.2118, respectively. The pound may test resistance around 0.86 against the euro and 1.25 against the franc.

Looking ahead, the Confederation of British Industry is scheduled to release Distributive Trades survey results at 6:00 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. durable goods orders for September, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended October 22, and U.S. pending home sales data for September are set to be published.

At 1:00 am ET, European Central Bank board member Yves Mersch is expected to speak at the Hachenburg Conference organised by Hochschule der Deutschen Bundesbank in Hachenburg, Germany.

Later in the day, a number of EU commissioners and finance ministers are scheduled to meet to discuss Brexit, migration and economic growth at Globsec Tatra Summit in Bratislava.