Forexpros – The pound slid to a session low against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, following the release of the minutes of the Bank of England’s July meeting but sterling found support from data showing that the U.K. unemployment rate fell in June.
GBP/USD hit 1.5609 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5630, shedding 0.14%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5522, Tuesday’s low and short-term resistance at 1.5676, Tuesday’s high and a two-week high.
The minutes of the BoE’s July meeting showed that seven of the nine member monetary policy committee, including Governor Mervyn King, voted to implement a further GBP50 billion of stimulus measures.
“Further economic stimulus was required in order to meet the inflation target in the medium term,” the BOE said. “The possible cost of providing a greater stimulus was less than that of providing too little.”
But the pound found support after official data showed that the unemployment rate in the U.K. unexpectedly ticked down to 8.1% in June from 8.2% in May as the London Olympics helped to create extra jobs.
However, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose by 6,100, above expectations for an increase of 5,000.
The pound was hovering close to a three-and-a-half year low against the euro, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.04% to 0.7859.
Later Wednesday, Ben Bernanke was to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee. In addition, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts.
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