Pound Extends Rise As Most Asian Stock Markets Trades Higher

The British pound continued to be strong against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday as most Asian stock markets traded higher following the gains on Wall Street Friday and as data showed that China's second-quarter GDP grew slightly more than expected.

The National Bureau of Statistics said that China's gross domestic product expanded 6.9 percent on year in the second quarter of 2017. That was unchanged from the previous quarter, and it exceeded expectations for a rise of 6.8 percent.

Last Friday, the pound had risen 1.23 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.47 percent against the yen, 0.66 percent against the euro and 0.92 percent against the Swiss franc.

In the Asian trading, the pound rose to a 6-day high of 147.61 against the yen, from Friday's closing value of 147.42. The pound may test resistance around the 149.00 region.

Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the pound advanced to 1.3113 and 1.2637 from last week's closing quotes of 1.3102 and 1.2618, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.32 against the greenback and 1.29 against the franc.

The pound edged up to 0.8745 against the euro, from an early low of 0.8761. On the upside, 0.86 is seen as the next resistance level for the pound.

Looking ahead, Eurozone CPI data for June is due to be released at 5:00 am ET.

In the New York session, Canada existing home sales data for June, Canada foreign securities purchases for May and U.S. Empire State manufacturing index for July are slated for release.

The Japanese market is closed for the Marine Day holiday.