Investing.com - The pound fell to fresh one-month lows against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, after the release of downbeat U.K. manufacturing data added to concerns over the strength of the British economy.
GBP/USD hit 1.2968 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since July 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2978, declining 0.47%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.2848, the low of July 11 and resistance at 1.3178, the high of August 5.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics said manufacturing production decreased by 0.3% in June, worse than expectations for a decline of 0.2% and following a drop of 0.6% a month earlier that was revised down from an initial 0.5% decrease.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose 0.9% in June, worse than forecasts for a 1.3% increase.
The report also showed that industrial production inched up by 0.1% in June, in line with forecasts. Year-on-year, industrial production increased by 1.6% in June, matching forecasts.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained broadly supported after Friday’s upbeat U.S. nonfarm payrolls report boosted expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve before the end of the year.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.39% to 0.8537.