Investing.com - The pound was largely steady on Tuesday following industry data showing UK factory orders were at their highest level for 29 years.
GBP/USD was 1.3236 at 12:15 GMT, up 0.02% on the previous session’s close.
Cable reached a high of 1.3277 on Monday, its highest level since the Bank of England raised the Bank Rate on 2 November.
The fall in the value of sterling since the UK voted to leave the European Union has supported the UK’s manufacturing sector. Survey data from the Confederation of British Industry showed that new factory orders were at their highest since 1988.
The CBI industrial trends orders in October was +17, up from September’s -2. The forecast figure had been +3.
Several members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee testified in the inflation report hearings before Parliament’s Treasury Committee on Tuesday morning. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, was not present.
The pound was little moved following the hearings as they largely chimed with news already outlined by the Bank of England. MPC member John Cunliffe reiterated the view that inflation will peak in the fourth quarter.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the Office for National Statistics released data showing that the UK public sector borrowing rose more than expected in October. Borrowing increased by £7.46 billion, higher than the consensus figure of £6.60 billion and up from £4.43 billion in September.
The release comes ahead of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond’s autumn budget on Wednesday.
Details on how Hammond is to set out his plan to trim the debt-to-GDP ratio are expected within the budget, a target he has set himself.
The interest rate rise at the beginning of November will add to the cost of debt for the government, while higher inflation will also make cutting the debt-to-GDP ratio more challenging for the Chancellor.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 94.04.
EUR/GBP dipped 0.10% to 0.8856. The collapse of coalition talks on Sunday evening in Germany continued to affect the single currency’s stability. EUR/USD was down 0.09% to 1.1723.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would prefer a new election to leading a minority government.
Sterling spent most of Tuesday morning in the red against the safe haven currencies, however picked back up into the early afternoon. GBP/JPY was 149.12, having spent most of the morning below 149.00. GBP/CHF was up 0.17% to 1.3168.
The pound struggled against commodity currencies. GBP/AUD was down 0.27% to 1.7483. The Aussie lifted following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting minutes release on Tuesday morning. The RBA said that their economic outlook remains on track with no interest rate rises are expected in the near term.
GBP/NZD and GBP/CAD were both down 0.05% to 1.9427 and 1.6957 respectively.