Forex Pros – The pound was broadly unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after the Bank of England held its key interest rate at a record low of 0.5% in a widely expected decision.
GBP/USD hit 1.5945 during European early afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since June 28; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5977, shedding 0.15%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5910, the low of June 28 and a five-month low and resistance at 1.6090, Wednesday’s high.
The minutes of the central bank’s June policy meeting showed that some monetary policy committee members believed the growth outlook had weakened and some believed more monetary stimulus may be necessary.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that manufacturing output in the U.K. rose at its fastest pace in over a year in May.
The Office for National Statistics said that manufacturing output, which does not include utilities or oil and gas extraction, rose by 1.8% in May, after a drop of 1.6% in April. Analysts had expected manufacturing output to rise by 1.0%.
However, the report said industrial output rose less-than-expected in May, climbing 0.9%, after falling by 1.7% the previous month and disappointing expectations for a 1.1% gain.
Meanwhile, the pound was up against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.15% to hit 0.8933.
Later Thursday, payroll processing firm ADP was to publish a report on U.S. non-farm payrolls, while the U.S. was to publish government data on initial jobless claims.
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