Forexpros – The pound was little changed against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as investors awaited the outcome of Bank of England and European Central Bank monetary policy meetings later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.5580 during European morning trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5589, easing down 0.02%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5544, the low of June 27 and resistance at 1.5691, Wednesday’s high.
The BoE was widely expected to implement a fresh round of stimulus measures at Thursday’s meeting, in order to shield the recession hit U.K. economy from the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone.
Data released earlier in the week showed that service sector activity in the U.K. expanded at the slowest rate in eight months in June.
Meanwhile, construction activity in the U.K. fell at the fastest rate in two-and-a-half years last month, while a separate report showed that the manufacturing sector contracted for a second successive month in June.
Investors were also eyeing the outcome of the ECB’s policy meeting, amid growing expectations for a rate cut to help bolster growth in the euro zone, following a recent string of weak economic data.
The ECB rate announcement was to be followed by a press conference with central bank head Mario Draghi to outline the reasons for the monetary policy decision and discuss the economic outlook for the euro area.
Investors were also awaiting Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, amid speculation that the Federal Reserve could implement a third round of quantitative easing to shore up the economy, which has been hit by the ongoing crisis in the euro zone.
The pound found mild support earlier in the session after the Halifax Bank of Scotland said its House Price Index rose by 1.0% in June, defying expectations for a 0.2% decline.
House prices rose by 0.4% in May, downwardly revised from a previously reported 0.5% increase.
Elsewhere, the pound was little changed against the euro, with EUR/GBP inching down 0.02% to 0.8034.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a report by payroll processing firm ADP on non-farm employment change, followed by government data on unemployment claims. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on U.S. service sector activity.
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