(RTTNews) - During early deals on Wednesday, the pound climbed to new multi-day highs against its US, European and Swiss counterparts ahead of the revised third quarter GDP report from the U.K. economy.

Economists expect the data at 4:30 am ET may show the economy to contract 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, compared to the initial estimate of 0.4% decline. On a yearly basis, the GDP is expected to fall 5.1%, slightly smaller than the 5.2% drop estimated preliminarily.

The British pound rose to a 2-day high against the franc and a 5-day high against the euro during early deals on Wednesday. The UK currency hit a high of 0.8982 against the euro and 1.6814 against the franc, compared to yesterday's closing values of 0.9025 and 1.6741, respectively. If the pound climbs further, 1.69 is seen as the next upside target level against the alpine currency and 0.89 level against the euro.

German consumer confidence for December deteriorated unexpectedly, a monthly survey from GfK Group said today. The forward-looking consumer confidence index fell to 3.7 for December from 4 in the prior month. Economists were expecting the index to remain unchanged at 4.
In early deals on Wednesday, the pound rose to a 5-day high of 1.6730 against the dollar, compared to yesterday's close of 1.6591. On the upside, 1.675 is seen as the next resistance level.

From U.S., the weekly jobless claims report for the week ended November 21, durable goods orders for October, personal income and spending for October, University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment for November and the new home sales for October are expected to influence markets today.

Against the yen, the pound edged up during today's early trading and hit as high as 147.70, with 149.7 seen as the next upside target level. At Tuesday's New York session close, the pair was quoted at 146.83.

The Ministry of Finance said that Japan saw a merchandise trade surplus of 801.7 billion yen in October, topping forecasts for a 465.5 billion yen surplus following the revised 525.3 billion yen surplus in September.

by RTT Staff Writer

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