GBP/USD hits 8-month high as U.K. gov’t agencies scrapped

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – Sterling surged against the dollar on Thursday, touching a fresh 8-month high, as the U.K. government scrapped 192 of its agencies.

In European morning currency market trading, GBP/USD hit 1.6066, its highest since Feb. 3. The currency pair later pulled back slightly to trade at 1.6012, up 0.72 percent on the day.

The move by Britain’s ruling Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, which will cause thousands of job losses, was its biggest shakeup of government to date.

According to GBP USD analysis, cable was likely to touch support around Tuesday’s low, 1.5754, and encounter resistance around the high of Jan. 28, 1.6276.

Later Thursday, the U.S. was due to publish a slew of key economic reports on jobless claims, producer price inflation, and the U.S. trade balance.

Elsewhere, the pound fell a tad versus the euro: EUR/GBP traded at 0.8783, up 0.02 percent, according to intraday analysis.