2024.01.0412:12:00UTC+00Pound Advances After Strong U.K. PMI Data

The pound appreciated against its major counterparts during the European session on Thursday, as U.K. composite PMI exceeded estimates in December.

Final data from S&P Global showed that U.K. composite PMI registered 52.1 in December, up from 50.7 in November. The flash reading was 51.7.

The services PMI advanced to 53.4 from 50.9 in the previous month. The reading was above the flash score of 52.7.

Investors now await U.S. reports on private sector employment and weekly jobless claims later in the day and Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report for additional clues on policy outlook.

The Fed minutes offered little clues about when the central bank will start trimming interest rates this year.

The pound climbed to a 2-day high of 1.2729 against the greenback and an 8-day high of 1.0814 against the franc, off its early lows of 1.2656 and 1.0735, respectively. The pound may find resistance around 1.30 against the greenback and 1.12 against the franc.

The pound advanced to a fresh 2-week high of 183.32 against the yen and more than a 2-week high of 0.8610 against the euro, from its early lows of 181.00 and 0.8630, respectively. The pound is poised to find resistance around 186.00 against the yen and 0.84 against the euro.

Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended December 30 and ADP private payrolls data for December will be released shortly.