Investing.com - The pound was hovering close to 14-month lows against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of downbeat U.K. construction data and as demand for the greenback remained broadly.
GBP/USD hit 1.5654 during European morning trade, the pair's lowest since September 2013; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5685, slipping 0.15%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5504 and resistance at 1.5782, Thursday's high.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said that U.K. construction output rose 1.8% in September, below expectations for an increase of 3.7%. Construction activity for August was revised to a 3.0% decline from a previously estimated 3.9% drop.
Sentiment on the pound also remained vulnerable after the Bank of England said Wednesday that inflation is likely remain below its 2% target in the near term and fall below 1% at some point during the next six months. The bank now expects inflation to take three years to return to its 2% target.
Meanwhile, demand for the dollar remained supported by the diverging monetary policy outlook between the Federal Reserve and it's major peers.
Market participants were eyeing data on U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment due later in the day for further indications on the strength of the economic recovery.
Sterling was steady against the euro, with EUR/GBP at 0.7947.
Also Friday, a preliminary report showed that Germany's gross domestic product rose 0.1% in the last quarter, in line with expectations, after a revised 0.1% contraction in the three months to June.
France's economy grew 0.3% in the thrid quarter, according to another preliminary report, exceeding expectations for growth of 0.1%, after a contraction of 0.1% in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, Italy's third quarter GPD fell 0.1% in the last quarter, in line with market expectations and after a 0.2% decline in the second quarter.