(RTTNews) - U.K.'s sterling rallied against its major rivals in early trading on Wednesday after a report showed that British manufacturers expect production to rise solidly in the next three months on the back of strong domestic and international demands.
The results of the latest monthly industrial trends survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry showed today that its index of industrial order expectations rose to -3.0 in December, after rising to -15.0 in November.
Analysts had expected the index to rise to -12.0 in December, with a reading above 0.0 indicates increasing order volume is expected and below signals expectations are for lower volume.
In the equity front, the FTSE 100 has been in negative territory for most of the session and the index is currently trading down 0.12 percent or 6.70 points at 5801.70.
U.K.'s sterling continued to creep higher against the Japanese yen in early trading on Wednesday and reached a 15-day high of 132.80 around 7:40 am ET. On the upside, 133.0 is seen as the next likely resistance level for the pound in near-term.
Japan's current account, machinery orders, bank lending data and economy watchers survey results, which were released earlier in Asian session likely influenced the yen.
The pound extended its 2-day winning streak against the Swiss franc in early trading and touched a 6-day high of 1.5623 around 7:40 am ET.
The pound thus appreciated almost 1.7 percent from last Friday's fresh 5-week low of 1.5323 and almost 60 pips from Tuesday's close. The next upside target for the sterling is seen around the 1.5660 level.
Despite a brief correction at the beginning of the session, the pound strengthened against the euro and reached a 1-week high of 0.8368 around 7:50 am ET. The pound now targets the 0.8330 resistance in near-term and a move above that level could set its strongest in nearly three months.
German industrial production recovered in October, offsetting the fall seen in September, due to improvement across all sectors.
Factory output rose 2.9% month-on-month, after a revised 1% decline in September, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said today. It was much better than economists' expectation for a 1% increase. Manufacturing rose 3.2% from the previous month, while construction increased 1.3%.
The pound erased most of its Asian session's losses against the US dollar in early trading and reached as high as 1.5806 before moving range-bound around 6:45 am ET. The cable is presently worth 1.5788 with 1.5820 seen as the next likely resistance level.
The dollar traded higher as an agreement between the U.S. President Barack Obama and the Republicans to extend income tax cuts for two years prompted traders to bet on the U.S. currency.
