Investing.com - The pound edged lower against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as concerns over the outlook for global economic growth weighed on market sentiment, while investors eyed the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.6041 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6074, slipping 0.15%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5941, the low of October 6 and and 11-month low and resistance at 1.6251, the high of October 2.
Market sentiment was hit after the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded its global growth forecast for both this year and next, due to stagnation in Europe and a weaker-than-forecast recovery in Japan.
The agency now sees 2014 global growth of 3.3% and 2015 growth of 3.8%, a decline of 0.1% for 2014 and 0.2% for 2015 from forecasts made in July.
Investor confidence also weakened after a report on Tuesday showing a steep decline in German factory orders in August fuelled fears that the euro zone’s largest economy is falling into a recession.
In the U.K., data on Wednesday showed that house prices rose 0.6% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% gain. August's figure was revised to a flat reading from a previously estimated 0.1% uptick.
Year-on-year, U.K. house prices increased by 9.6% in September, in line with expectations, following a 9.7% rise the previous month.
Market participants were turning their attention to the minutes of the Fed's September meeting, due out later in the day, for fresh indications on the future possible direction of U.S. monetary policy.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP adding 0.11% to 0.7877.