Investing.com - The pound climbed to two-week highs against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, boosted by the release of strong U.K. industrial production data, while demand for the greenback remained broadly under pressure.
GBP/USD hit 1.5308 during European morning trade, the pair's highest since September 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5301, gaining 0.48%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5137, Tuesday's low and resistance at 1.5369, the high of September 23.
The Office for National Statistics reported on Wednesday that U.K. industrial production rose 1.0% from a month earlier, well ahead of expectations for a 0.3% increase.
Industrial output rose 1.9% from a year earlier, compared to expectations for a 1.2% increase.
Manufacturing production was up 0.5% from a month earlier, the ONS said, but was down 0.8% on a year-over-year basis.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure by diminished expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year in the wake of last Fridays unexpectedly weak U.S. jobs report for September.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP retreating 0.77% to 0.7346.
The single currency weakened after data showing that German industrial production fell at the fastest rate in a year in August, adding to concerns that a slowdown in global growth is spreading to the euro area’s largest economy.
German industrial output fell 1.2% from a month earlier, missing forecasts for a 0.2% increase.
The report came a day after data showing that German factory orders unexpectedly fell 1.8% in August.