Forexpros – The pound remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as concerns over the outlook for the global economy weighed, but sterling found some support following the release of stronger-than-forecast U.S. employment data.
GBP/USD pulled back from 1.5771, the pair’s lowest since March 16, to hit 1.5807 during U.S. morning trade, still down 0.42% on the day.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5693, the low of March 16 and resistance at 1.5891, the session high.
Market sentiment was hit earlier after preliminary data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone slumped unexpectedly in March, while service sector activity in the region declined to the lowest level in four months, sparking concerns that the euro zone is sliding back into a recession.
A separate report, showing that China’s HSBC manufacturing index contracted for a fifth successive month in March as new orders, fell added to fears over the outlook for the global economy.
Sentiment on the pound was hit after official data showed that U.K. retail sales posted the largest drop in nine months in February and were revised down for the previous month.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics said retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.5% decline.
Retail sales for January were revised down to a 0.3% gain from a previously reported 0.9% increase.
But sterling found support after government data that U.S. jobless claims fell to the lowest level since February 2008 last week.
The Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, beating expectations for a decline of 3,000 to 350,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 353,000 from 351,000.
Elsewhere, the pound was fractionally lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.05% to hit 0.8330.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to speeches by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day.
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