Investing.com - The pound fell to three-week lows against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after downbeat U.K. manufacturing and industrial production data and as demand for the greenback remained broadly supported.
GBP/USD hit 1.4667 during European morning trade, the pair's lowest since March 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4670, shedding 0.29%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.4631, the low of March 18 and resistance at 1.4888, Thursday's high.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said that U.K. manufacturing production rose 0.4% in February, in line with expectations and after a downwardly revised 0.6% decline the previous month.
On a yearly basis, U.K. manufacturing production rose 1.1% in February, disappointing expectations for a 1.3% gain.
The report also showed that U.K. industrial production rose 0.1% in February, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase. Year-on-year, U.K. industrial production ticked up 0.1% in February, less than the expected 0.4% rise.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained supported after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Wednesday that the timing of a rate hike depends on economic data and added that a rate hike in June could still be possible if the labor market recovery remained strong.
Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s March meeting showed that several officials believe the economic outlook is likely to warrant an interest rate hike in June.
The greenback was also boosted after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose less-than-expected.
Sterling was steady against the euro, with EUR/GBP at 0.7240.