Investing.com - The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after data showed that U.K. service sector expanded at a faster rate than expected this month, although gains were capped by ongoing concerns over the Greek debt crisis.
Trading volumes were expected to remain thin with U.S. markets closed for a national holiday.
GBP/USD hit 1.5639 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5623, adding 0.10%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5559, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.5736, the high of July 1.
Markit research group reported on Friday that the U.K. services purchasing managers' index rose to 58.5 in June from 56.5 the previous month, beating expectations for an uptick to 57.4.
But investors remained cautious as hopes for a last minute deal between Greece and the euro zone were quashed on Wednesday after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged voters to reject the terms of an international bailout deal.
Greek voters are due to decide on Sunday whether to accept terms proposed by the institutions overseeing the country’s now-expired bailout, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, or reject them.
Greece became the first developed country to default on the IMF after its second bailout program expired late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the dollar remained vulnerable after a string of disappointing U.S. data on Thursday fuelled uncertainty over the timing of a rate hike.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that factory orders fell 1.0% in May, compared to expectations for a 0.5% decline.
Separately, the Labor Department reported that the economy added 223,000 jobs in June, compared to expectations for jobs growth of 230,000.
Data also showed that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 27 increased by 10,000 to 281,000, compared to expectations for a 1,000 fall.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.14% to 0.7111.
Also Friday, Markit said that Germany's services PMI ticked down to 53.8 this month from 54.2 in May, confounding expectations for an unchanged reading.
France's services PMI remained unchanged at 54.1 this month, in line with expectations.