Pound Higher On Easing Trade Fears

The pound strengthened against its major opponents in the European session on Wednesday, as sentiment lifted up after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin remarked that the U.S.-China trade deal is 90 percent over and further progress in talks could be made at the G20 summit this weekend.

Speaking to CNBC, Mnuchin said that U.S. negotiators were "about 90% of the way" to a trade deal with China and he was hopeful to seal an agreement this year.

His comments eased worries over a stalemate with China as Trump and Xi are set to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday.

Speaking in Parliament, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told that the central bank would change its economic forecasts in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

"In the event that there is progress toward a deal, the committee forecast becomes very relevant," he told lawmakers.

"In the event that the government switches policy, the BOE would switch."

The JobsOutlook survey by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation showed that UK employers' confidence on the economy and their hiring and investment intentions improved since the extension of the Brexit deadline.

Employers' confidence in making hiring and investment decisions improved with the index rising 4 percentage points to positive 1.

The currency was trading mixed against its major counterparts in the Asian session. While it rose against the yen and the franc, it fell against the euro and the greenback.

The pound appreciated to 136.84 against the yen, from a low of 135.87 touched at 5:15 pm ET. The currency is likely to challenge resistance around the 139.00 mark.

Following near a 6-month low of 1.2348 seen at 3:00 am ET, the pound reversed direction and gained to 1.2474 against the Swiss franc. The next possible resistance for the pound is seen around the 1.27 area.

The pound bounced off to 1.2707 against the greenback, from a 5-day low of 1.2663 marked at 3:00 am ET. If the currency rises further, 1.29 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The U.K. currency edged higher to 0.8941 against the euro, after falling to an 8-day low 0.8974 at 3:45 am ET. The pound is seen finding resistance around the 0.88 level.

Survey data from market research group GfK showed that Germany's consumer sentiment is set to weaken in July as income expectations suffer significant setbacks amid fears of job losses among shoppers.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index dropped more-than-expected to 9.8 in July from 10.1 in June. The score was forecast to fall marginally to 10.0.

Looking ahead, U.S. durable goods orders, advance goods trade data and wholesale inventories, all for May, are scheduled for release in the New York session.