Forexpros – The pound slid to a four-day low against the broadly stronger U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as expectations for a fresh round of monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve faded, while markets eyed U.K. data due later in the session.
GBP/USD hit 1.5870 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since March 29; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5883, shedding 0.18%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5841, the low of March 28 and resistance at 1.5957, the high of March 29.
The minutes of the Fed’s March meeting, published Tuesday, showed that policymakers will refrain from launching a third round of quantitative easing unless the rate of growth falters or inflation drops below the central bank’s 2% targeted rate.
But the pound remained supported after robust U.K. manufacturing and construction sector data earlier in the week eased concerns over the outlook for economic growth.
Earlier Wednesday, industry data showed that U.K. house prices rose unexpectedly in March.
Mortgage lender Halifax said its house price index jumped by 2.2% last month, defying expectations for a modest decline of 0.3%.
House prices were down 0.6% in the three months to March, compared to the same period last year, the smallest decline since October 2010.
The pound was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.16% to hit 0.8302.
Later in the day, the U.K. was to publish data on service sector activity.
Meanwhile, the U.S. was to publish a report non-farm employment change, as well as data from the Institute of Supply Management on service sector growth. In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was due to speak.
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