Pound Advances As European Shares Climb Ahead Of Inflation Data

The pound climbed against its major counterparts in the European session on Monday, as investors awaited inflation data from the U.S. and the U.K. for fresh clues on the policy outlook.

U.S. consumer inflation data, due on Tuesday, is likely to support hopes that interest rates have peaked.

UK employment and inflation data will be published on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The CPI is expected to ease to 4.8 percent in October from 6.7 percent in September.

Meanwhile, markets ignored Moody's decision to lower its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to "negative" from "stable" and looked ahead to a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, due this week for direction.

"The key driver of the outlook change to negative is Moody's assessment that the downside risks to the US' fiscal strength have increased and may no longer be fully offset by the sovereign's unique credit strengths," the agency said.

The pound firmed to a 4-day high of 1.2253 against the greenback and a 1-week high of 185.91 against the yen, off its early lows of 1.2209 and 184.89, respectively. The pound is seen facing resistance around 1.24 against the greenback and 187.00 against the yen.

The pound appreciated to 1.1048 against the franc and 0.8728 against the euro, from its previous lows of 1.1007 and 0.8742, respectively. The pound is likely to face resistance around 1.13 against the franc and 0.86 against the euro.