GBP/USD steady, close to nine-month highs

British pound was trading steadily and in proximity to the highest point in nine months against the US dollar on Monday, following the release of UK data points, while concerns over a possible US government shut down weighed on the greenback.

GBP/USD reached a session high at 1.6180 at 0:30 GMT, the pairs highest point since January 3rd, after which consolidation followed at 1.6148, ticking up a mere 0.02% on a daily basis. Support was likely to be received at psychological level of 1.6100, while resistance was to be met at January 3rd high, 1.6250.

The number of mortgage approvals in the United Kingdom increased to the highest level in more than five years, reaching 62 226 in August from the revised up 60 914 in July, while preliminary estimates pointed a lesser increase to 61 500.

Net consumer credit in the country reached 0.6 billion GBP in the month of August in consonance with expectations, while net lending secured on dwellings was at the amount of 1.0 billion GBP during the same month, also meeting analysts projections.

Hometrack reported that results of its survey showed UK home prices rose 0.5% in September on a monthly basis, or the most since May 2007, following the 0.4% increase a month ago. On annual basis, home prices rose 2.4% in September.

“U.K. data have been better than expected, which makes it more unlikely that the BOE will add to their stimulus,” said Lutz Karpowitz, a senior currency strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, cited by Bloomberg. “The pound is benefiting against the euro from the Italian government troubles.”

The yield on the UK 10-year gilt dropped one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to reach 2.70%, after declining 21 basis points last week. This was as a result of Italian Prime Minister Lettas move to defy the attempt of the previous premier, Berlusconi, to conduct new elections in the country.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the US House of Representatives passed legislation, that would delay the implementation of Obamacare, President Barack Obama’s health care package passed in 2010. There was a probability that 800 000 federal workers would be sent home on Tuesday, if the Congress fails to pass a stopgap spending bill, before funding expires tonight.

Elsewhere, the pound was gaining against the euro, with EUR/GBP cross down by 0.29% on a daily basis to trade at 0.8354 at 10:03 GMT. The sterling has appreciated 6.5% during the past six months, or the best performing currency among the 10 developed-nation currencies, tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The US dollar has weakened 0.5%, while the euro has gained 5.5% during the same period.