Investing.com - The pound edged lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of weak U.K. construction data and as Thursday's strong U.S. data continued to support demand for the greenback.
GBP/USD hit 1.5696 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5708, slipping 0.15%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5645, the low of December 10 and resistance at 1.5828, the high of November 27.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said construction output declined 2.2% in October, disappointing expectations for a 0.8% rise. Construction output rose 2.2% in September, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.8% gain.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained supported after the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 6 decreased by 3,000 to 294,000 from the previous week’s total of 297,000.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales increased by 0.7% last month, beating expectations for a gain of 0.4%. Retail sales growth for October was revised up to a 0.5% increase from a previously reported gain of 0.3%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, advanced by 0.5% in November, easily surpassing forecasts for a 0.1% increase. Core sales in October rose by 0.4%.
The strong retail sales numbers boosted expectations for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates earlier in 2015 than once anticipated, possibly in the middle of the year.
Sterling was also lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.35% to 0.7916.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on producer prices and a preliminary report on consumer sentiment.