Forex: EUR/GBP back to 0.8600 mark

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - After a quiet Asian session above 0.8550, the EURGBP restarted its upside momentum on European hours, reaching the 0.8600 psychological level and a daily high at 0.8606. Profit taking pulled the cross to 0.8574, but buying interest pushed the price back to its highs, where it quotes as of writing.

During the London morning, both UK and EMU data were released.

UK M4 money supply rose 0.7% in December to an annualized improvement from -2.8% to -1.0%. Consumer credit rose £0.649B, beating £0.2B consensus. The same did Net Lending to Individuals on December, rising £1.7B, above the expected £0.9B. UK Mortgage Approvals rose from 54.036K to 55.785K (consensus of 54.500K).

EMU January consumer confidence improved from -26.3 to -23.9 as expected, industrial confidence rose from -14.2 (revised from -14.4) to -13.9 (consensus of -13.5), business climate rose from -1.11 (revised from -1.12) to -1.09 (consensus of -1.00). The Economic Sentiment Indicator beat expectations by rising from 87.8 to 89.2 (consensus of 88.2).

"The strong resistance area between 0.8506 (24/02/2012 high) and the high of the long-term declining trendline (0.8630 ) and the general overbought conditions suggest a limited medium-term upside potential", wrote MIG Bank analyst Bijoy Kar.