Investing.com - The pound edged up against the U.S. dollar on Monday, but remained within close distance of recent 18-month lows as market sentiment weakened broadly following Greek anti-austerity Syriza party's election win on Sunday.
GBP/USD hit 1.5043 during European mornning trade, the pair's highest since January 22; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5011, adding 0.13%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.4947, the low of January 22 and an 18-month low and resistance at 1.5212, the high of January 22.
Market sentiment was hit as Syriza's victory sparked concerns over Greece's future in the euro zone.
Party leader Alexis Tsipras has pledged to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240 billion bailout and reverse many of the austerity measures imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
The pound shrugged off data on Friday showing that U.K. retail sales rose 0.4% in December, beating expectations for a 0.6% decline, after a 1.6% increase the previous month.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased by 4.3% last month, more than the expected 3.0% rise, after a 6.4% advance in November.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.31% to 0.7493, pulling away from Friday's seven-year lows of 0.7401.
The euro found some support after data on Monday showed that German business confidence improved to the highest level in six months in January, easing concerns over the health of the euro zone's largest economy.
The German research institute, Ifo said its Business Climate Index rose to 106.7 this month, above forecasts for 106.3 and up from a reading of 105.5 in December.